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A New Method for Qualitative Multi-scale Analysis of Bacterial Biofilms on Filamentous Fungal Colonies Using Confocal and Electron Microscopy
Published on: January 25, 2017
Microscopic characterisation of filamentous microbes: towards fully automated morphological quantification through
1School of Biological Sciences, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland. david.barry@cancer.org.uk
Journal of Microscopy
|August 5, 2011
Summary
Understanding filamentous microbial morphology is key for industrial fermentation productivity. This review details microscopy and digital image analysis for quantifying complex mycelial forms, crucial for optimizing bioprocesses.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Microbial Physiology
- Process Engineering
Background:
- Mycelial morphology significantly impacts industrial fermentation productivity in filamentous microorganisms.
- Morphological development is influenced by a complex interplay of environmental factors and organism genotype.
- Quantifying these complex phenotypes presents a significant challenge in biotechnological process design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review complex morphologies in filamentous microbial fermentations.
- To describe the application of microscopy and image analysis for morphology quantification.
- To highlight the challenges and advancements in characterizing microbial structures in bioprocesses.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on filamentous microbial morphology.
- Application of microscopy techniques for visualizing microbial structures.
- Utilizing digital image analysis for quantitative assessment of mycelial phenotypes.
Main Results:
- Filamentous microbes exhibit diverse and complex morphologies in industrial fermentations.
- Digital image analysis, enabled by advancements in computing and imaging, offers powerful tools for quantification.
- Despite advancements, manual and subjective analyses remain prevalent.
Conclusions:
- Accurate characterization of mycelial morphology is essential for optimizing fermentation processes.
- Microscopy and digital image analysis are critical for objective quantification of microbial structures.
- Further development of automated systems is needed to overcome current analytical challenges.
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