Preparation of <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i> Swarmer Cells for Imaging

Source: Heering, J., et al., Induction of Cellular Differentiation and Single Cell Imaging of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Swimmer and Swarmer Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (2017).This video demonstrates the preparation of swarmer cells from a Vibrio parahaemolyticus colony for fluorescence imaging. The bacteria are genetically engineered to express a fluorophore-tagged protein that localizes unipolarly in swimmer cells and bipolarly in elongated swarmer cells, allowing for their visual differentiation. An agarose pad is prepared on a microscope slide, onto which a colony section is placed and removed to leave adherent cells, which are then covered with a coverslip for imaging.