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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Quantitative Analysis of Aspergillus nidulans Growth Rate using Live Microscopy and Open-Source Software
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Live-Cell Imaging of Dynein-Mediated Cargo Transport in Aspergillus nidulans

Rongde Qiu1, Jun Zhang1, Dennis McDaniel2

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences- F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|January 5, 2023
PubMed

Insights

This study details methods for live-cell imaging of cytoplasmic dynein in Aspergillus nidulans. Researchers visualize the movement of endosomes and vesicles, aiding the study of intracellular transport in filamentous fungi.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Mycology
  • Molecular Motors

Background:

  • Filamentous fungi are utilized to investigate long-distance cargo transport powered by cytoplasmic dynein.
  • Aspergillus nidulans serves as a model organism for in vivo studies of dynein function and regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To outline cultivation and live-cell imaging techniques for Aspergillus nidulans.
  • To observe the dynein-mediated distribution of early endosomes and secretory vesicles within fungal hyphae.

Main Methods:

  • Culturing Aspergillus nidulans strains in specialized chambers for inverted microscopy.
  • Utilizing on-stage incubators for maintaining optimal conditions during imaging.
  • Employing wide-field epifluorescence and Zeiss LSM 980 (with Airyscan 2) microscopy for high-resolution visualization.
  • Describing a protocol for Aspergillus nidulans transformation.

Main Results:

  • Successful live-cell imaging of fungal hyphae attached to chamber bottoms.
  • Observation of dynein-driven transport of early endosomes and secretory vesicles.
  • Demonstration of effective methods for preparing and imaging fungal cells.

Conclusions:

  • Established protocols facilitate detailed study of cytoplasmic dynein function in Aspergillus nidulans.
  • The described methods enable visualization of intracellular transport mechanisms in filamentous fungi.
  • These techniques support further research into dynein regulation and cargo trafficking.
Keywords:
Aspergillus nidulansDyneinEarly endosomesFilamentous fungiLive-cell imagingSecretory vesiclesWide-field epifluorescence microscopesZeiss LSM 980 (with Airyscan 2)

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