Re: Bacteria and flow cytometry

From: /G=Gerhard/S=Nebe-von-Caron/OU=1890CHPE/O=TMGB.URC/@LANGATE.gb.sprint.com
Date: Fri Nov 17 1995 - 04:46:00 EST


          Depends very much on your staining conditions. Never add the 
          stains whilst heatstressing or sonicating as that perturbs 
          the membrane. You should also avoid solvents like DMSO. 
          Above 0.05% they can lead to similar problems. I therefore 
          recommended Molecular Probes to sell their kit as powder 
          allowing to adjust the concentrations accordingly. 
          Unfortunatelly their dyes are not stable in aqueus 
          solutions.
          
          CFDA is well known to stick to dead cells as well, 
          particular in yeasts where it seem to accumulate in 
          vacuoles. The same can be true for membrane potential dyes 
          depending on their concentration. If you add to much they 
          stain live and dead bugs.
          
          Using CFDA and PI on Lactobacillus plantarum we also get 
          double positives, most of them actually cell aggregates. 
          There is also a dim PI stain especially after heat treatment 
          which is probably staining occuring outside the cell 
          membrane that is probably nonspecific. You can also get it 
          with starvation and it occurs before the cell is 
          depolarized.
          
          
          Gerhard Nebe-v.Caron
          Unilever Research, Colworth Laboratory Sharnbrook, 
          Bedfordshire
          GB - MK44 1LQ
          Tel:    +44(0)1234-222066
          FAX:    +44(0)1234-222344
          E.mail: gerhard.nebe-von-caron@urcgb.sprint.com
          
          
          
          


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Bacteria and flow cytometry
Author:  harmane@phibred.com at INTERNET
Date:    16/11/95 20:19


We are working with bacteria with a special interest in viability staining. 
We have used Rhodamine123, CFDA, PI and Molecular Probe's viability kit 
called LIVE/DEAD BacLight.
          
An interesting phenomenon that we initially noticed with fluorescent 
microscopy and later confirmed with flow cytometry is the presence of a 
population which stains a color that has properties of both live and dead 
stains.  We find that as cell cultures are stressed (chemical, heat, 
radiation) the level of these 'intermediate' colored cells increases.  We 
have found that there seems to be a correlation between the relative amounts 
of stress and the population of intermediate colored cells.
          
This has been shown with a number of different genera and species. There does 
seem to be some differences in the amount of the intermediate population with 
different cultures, but their presence seems to be universal.
          
If there are other researchers out there doing work like this and can offer 
any theories or explanations for this phenomenon, we would very interested in 
hearing from you.
          
Bill Rutherford (Rutherfor@phibred.com) 
Beth Harman (Harmane@phibred.com)
Lyse Norian (Norianla@phibred.com)


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