Structural Analysis of Gliding Motility of a Bacteroidetes Bacterium by Correlative Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy (CLSEM).

The members of the Bacteroidetes phylum move on surfaces by gliding motility in the absence of external motility appendages, leading to the formation of spreading colonies. Here, the structural features of the spreading colony were assessed in a uranium-tolerant Bacteroidetes bacterium, Chryseobacterium sp. strain PMSZPI, by using correlative light and scanning electron microscopy (CLSEM). We developed a simple and convenient workflow for CLSEM using a shuttle and find software module and a correlative sample holding slide designed to transport samples between the light/fluorescence microscope (LM/FM) and the scanning electron microscope (SEM) to image spreading colony edges. The datasets from the CLSEM studies allowed convenient examination of the colonial organization by LM/FM followed by ultrastructural analysis by SEM. The regions of interest (ROIs) of the spreading colony edges that were observed in LM/FM in the absence and presence of uranium could be re-identified in the SEM quickly without prolonged searching. Perfect correlation between LM and SEM could be achieved with minimum preparation steps. Subsequently, imaging of the correlated regions was done at higher resolution in SEM to obtain more comprehensive information. We further showed the association of uranium with the gliding PMSZPI cells by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) attached to SEM.

Applications of Scanning Electron Microscopy Using Secondary and Backscattered Electron Signals in Neural Structure.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has contributed to elucidating the ultrastructure of bio-specimens in three dimensions. SEM imagery detects several kinds of signals, of which secondary electrons (SEs) and backscattered electrons (BSEs) are the main electrons used in biological and biomedical research. SE and BSE signals provide a three-dimensional (3D) surface topography and information on the composition of specimens, respectively. Among the various sample preparation techniques for SE-mode SEM, the osmium maceration method is the only approach for examining the subcellular structure that does not require any reconstruction processes. The 3D ultrastructure of organelles, such as the Golgi apparatus, mitochondria, and endoplasmic reticulum has been uncovered using high-resolution SEM of osmium-macerated tissues. Recent instrumental advances in scanning electron microscopes have broadened the applications of SEM for examining bio-specimens and enabled imaging of resin-embedded tissue blocks and sections using BSE-mode SEM under low-accelerating voltages; such techniques are fundamental to the 3D-SEM methods that are now known as focused ion-beam SEM, serial block-face SEM, and array tomography (i.e., serial section SEM). This technical breakthrough has allowed us to establish an innovative BSE imaging technique called section-face imaging to acquire ultrathin information from resin-embedded tissue sections. In contrast, serial section SEM is a modern 3D imaging technique for creating 3D surface rendering models of cells and organelles from tomographic BSE images of consecutive ultrathin sections embedded in resin. In this article, we introduce our related SEM techniques that use SE and BSE signals, such as the osmium maceration method, semithin section SEM (section-face imaging of resin-embedded semithin sections), section-face imaging for correlative light and SEM, and serial section SEM, to summarize their applications to neural structure and discuss the future possibilities and directions for these methods.

Correlative Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy to Study Interactions of Salmonella enterica with Polarized Epithelial Cell Monolayers.

Live cell fluorescence imaging is the method of choice to visualize dynamic cellular processes in time and space, such as adhesion to and invasion of polarized epithelial cells by Salmonella enterica sv. Typhimurium. Scanning electron microscopy provides highest resolution of surface structures of infected cells, providing ultrastructure of the apical side of host cells and infecting Salmonella. Combining both methods toward correlative light and scanning electron microscopy (CLSEM) enables new insights in adhesion and invasion mechanisms regarding dynamics over time, and high spatial resolution with precise time lines. To correlate fast live cell imaging of polarized monolayer cells with scanning electron microscopy, we developed a robust method by using gold mesh grids as convenient CLSEM carriers for standard microscopes. By this, we were able to unravel the morphology of the apical structures of monolayers of polarized epithelial cells at distinct time points during Salmonella infection.