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METHODS article

Front. Photobiol.
Sec. Light Reactions of Photosynthesis
Volume 2 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphbi.2024.1511953
This article is part of the Research Topic Heterogeneity in Photobiology of Phototrophs – Emerging Questions and Microscopic Methods View all articles

RNA-FISH as a probe for heterogeneity at the cellular and subcellular levels in cyanobacteria

Provisionally accepted
Conrad W Mullineaux Conrad W Mullineaux 1*Kexin Wang Kexin Wang 2Moontaha Mahbub Moontaha Mahbub 1
  • 1 Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
  • 2 University of Greenwich, London, London, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The abundance and subcellular location of specific mRNA molecules can give rich information on bacterial cell biology and gene expression at the single-cell level. We have been using RNA Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (RNA-FISH) to probe for specific mRNA species in both unicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria. We have shown that the technique can be used to reveal the locations of membrane protein production and can also reveal heterogeneity in gene expression at the single-cell level, including patterns of gene expression within the filaments of heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria as they differentiate in diazotrophic conditions. However, the background fluorescence from pigments in cyanobacteria can cause problems, as can the resistance of heterocysts to permeabilization. Here we discuss the potential and the pitfalls of RNA-FISH as applied to cyanobacteria. We compare the information that can be obtained from RNA-FISH with that available from other techniques for probing gene expression.

    Keywords: Cyanobacteria, Fluorescent in situ hybridization, Gene Expression, heterocyst, mRNA, thylakoid membrane

    Received: 15 Oct 2024; Accepted: 09 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Mullineaux, Wang and Mahbub. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Conrad W Mullineaux, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom

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