Ludmila Chistyakova

By Natalia Grigoryeva and Ludmila Chistyakova

In this chapter, a novel technique for investigation of natural and laboratory cyanobacterial cultures is presented. The technique is based on a strict relation between the intrinsic single-cell fluorescence emission spectra of cyanobacteria and the physiological state of the whole culture. It will be shown else that the single-cell fluorescence spectra for different species are steady enough to conduct a taxonomic analysis of cyanobacterial cultures based on a common statistical data evaluation among the parameters extracted from a set of such spectra. Several examples are given to illustrate the power and simplicity of a new technique, which can become a promising tool for automation of production in the cyanobacterial biotechnology, as well as give a valuable contribution to the development of innovative approaches in environmental monitoring of harmful algal blooms.

Part of the book: Cyanobacteria

By Natalia Grigoryeva and Ludmila Chistyakova

Self-fluorescence of light-harvesting complex is a powerful tool for investigation of living photosynthetic microorganisms. As the physiological state of single cells of such microorganisms is closely related to the operation and activity of photosynthetic system, any variations in spectroscopic properties of their self-fluorescence indicate the changes in their physiological state. In this chapter, we present several applications of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for investigation of living photosynthetic cells. A set of ordinary CLSM techniques will be applied for studying of cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae) such as 3D imaging, spectral imaging, microscopic spectroscopy, and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Cyanobacteria were chosen as a model microorganism due to their great importance for different scientific and biotechnological applications. Cyanobacteria are the most ancient photosynthetic microorganisms on Earth. Nowadays, cyanobacteria are one of the most wide-spreaded organisms in nature, and the ecological aspect in their investigation is quite valuable. On the other hand, thousand strains belonging to different species are cultivated in biolaboratories all over the world for different biotechnological applications such as biofuel cells, food production, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, etc. Thus, the noninvasive spectroscopic methods are quite important for monitoring of physiological state of cyanobacterial cultures and other photosynthetic microorganisms.

Part of the book: Color Detection