Physiological investigations by image analysis

Modern quantitative image analysis has been extensively used to characteriz e the morphology of microorganisms, especially those of the filamentous typ e. More recently physiological features have been quantified, making use of classical stains as well as fluorescent dyes. The potential of the techniq ue is illustrated by a detailed analysis of the differentiation of Streptom yces ambofaciens. Three different staining procedures have been used to mon itor the thinning and septation of hyphae (with propidium iodide staining), the leakage of cellular components through the membrane (with carbol genti an violet staining) and the respiration (with INT staining) in a batch subm erged culture. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.