Long-time characterization of single-cell swimming behavior

Camila Vieira Lino da Costa

Key information

Authors:

Camila Vieira Lino da Costa (Camila Vieira Lino da Costa)

Supervisors:

Vânia Cristina Henriques Silvério (Vania Silverio); Pablo Sartori Velasco

Published in

07/02/2024

Abstract

Swimming motion is crucial for microbes that inhabit aquatic media, allowing them to explore and adapt to changing environments. A quantitative analysis of single-cell swimming is thus key to understanding the pathways involved in microbial behavior, both in standard experimental conditions and in the presence of perturbations. In this work, we characterize the long-time single-cell swimming behavior of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a phototactic microalga. To acquire a large amount of data of swimming motion, we build a high-throughput setup of space-efficient microscopes integrated with microfluidic devices that confine swimming cells. We acquire data of 20 single cells for ~10 h in standard experimental conditions, and analyze the linear and turning speeds of a controlled set of cells. We conclude that cells slow down over their lifetime, which is accompanied by an increase in turning. Aditionally, we obtain frequency values of the helical motion of cells on the order of 1.2 Hz, compatible with previous reports. This work will contribute for the long-time characterization of single-cell swimming behavior in standard experimental conditions and in varying conditions. In the future, quantifying the robust properties of single-cell swimming under perturbations will indicate what is functionally relevant in microbial behavior.