DETECTION OF BIOLUMINESCENCE FROM INDIVIDUAL BACTERIAL-CELLS - A COMPARISON OF 2 DIFFERENT LOW-LIGHT IMAGING-SYSTEMS

Detection of very row light levels arising from individual cells of th e naturally bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri as well as from a luminescence-marked Pseudomonas putida strain was achieved by the aid of two different camera systems. Using a liquid nitrogen-cooled slow- scan CCD (charge-coupled device) camera we were able to detect single- cell bioluminescence within 1 min, and the pictures obtained were of g ood resolution. In contrast. employing a photon-counting video camera we were able to detect bioluminescent cells within 10 seconds, but at the expense of spatial resolution. This study demonstrates the feasibi lity of microscopic single cell analysis employing bioluminescence as reporter system. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.