Thanks to new technology created at the University of Exeter, the movement patterns of microscopic algae can be tracked more precisely than ever before, providing fresh insights into ocean health.
The brand-new tool allows researchers to examine the movement patterns of microscopic algae in unprecedented detail. The discovery may have repercussions for the comprehension and control of toxic algal blooms as well as the future production of fossil fuel-alternative algae biofuels.
Microscopic algae form the foundations of aquatic food webs and also play an important role in ocean ecosystems by storing the majority of the world’s carbon. Keeping stable algal communities is consequently essential to the health of the oceans. There is growing concern that changes in ocean chemistry, such as acidification, could alter the growth of algae and the composition of their communities. In order to maximize photosynthesis, many species move and swim about in search of sources of light or nutrients.
For the first time, scientists will be able to capture and film a single microalgae swimming inside a microdroplet thanks to new microfluidic technology that has just been published in eLife. The team has been able to analyze how microscopic algae explore their microenvironment and track and quantify their long-term behaviors thanks to the innovative breakthrough. They also defined how individuals differ from one another and react to abrupt alterations in their environment, such as the presence of light or specific substances.
Living Systems Institute researcher Dr. Kirsty Wan, the study’s lead author, said: “With the use of this technology, we are now able to examine and gain a detailed understanding of the swimming habits of any microscopic organism.” This will enable us to comprehend how they manage their swimming patterns and their capacity for adaptation to upcoming climate change and other difficulties.
In particular, the team has found that the presence of interfaces with strong curvature, coupled with the organisms’ microscopic swimming in a corkscrew motion, causes the macroscopic chiral movement (always clockwise or counterclockwise) seen in the typical trajectory of cells.
The technology has a wide range of possible applications and could represent a new method for identifying and quantifying complicated patterns of behavior in any organism, including animals, as well as the environmental intelligence of cells.
Added Dr. Wan: “Our ultimate goal is to create predictive models for swimming and growing microbial and microalgal communities in any pertinent habitat, which will help us understand marine ecology both now and in the future.” Understanding specific behavior at the individual-cell level is thus a critical first step.
