Elucidating fungal decomposition of organic matter at sub-micrometer spatial scales using optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microspectroscopy
De Beeck, Michiel Op LU
; Troein, Carl
LU
; Peterson, Carsten
LU
; Tunlid, Anders
LU
and Persson, Per
LU
(2024)
In Applied and Environmental Microbiology
90(2).
- Abstract
In microbiological studies, a common goal is to link environmental factors to microbial activities. Both environmental factors and microbial activities are typically derived from bulk samples. It is becoming increasingly clear that such bulk environmental parameters poorly represent the microscale environments microorganisms experience. Using infrared (IR) microspectroscopy, the spatial distribution of chemical compound classes can be visualized, making it a useful tool for studying the interactions between microbial cells and their microenvironments. The spatial resolution of conventional IR microspectroscopy has been limited by the diffractionlimit of IR light. The recent development of optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR)... (More)
In microbiological studies, a common goal is to link environmental factors to microbial activities. Both environmental factors and microbial activities are typically derived from bulk samples. It is becoming increasingly clear that such bulk environmental parameters poorly represent the microscale environments microorganisms experience. Using infrared (IR) microspectroscopy, the spatial distribution of chemical compound classes can be visualized, making it a useful tool for studying the interactions between microbial cells and their microenvironments. The spatial resolution of conventional IR microspectroscopy has been limited by the diffractionlimit of IR light. The recent development of optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microspectroscopy has pushed the spatial resolution of IR microspectroscopy beyond this diffractionlimit, allowing the distribution of chemical compound classes to be visualized at sub-micrometer spatial scales. To examine the potential and limitations of O-PTIR microspectroscopy to probe the interactions between fungal cells and their immediate environments, we imaged the decomposition of cellulose filmsby cells of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus and compared O-PTIR results using conventional IR microspectroscopy. Whereas the data collected with conventional IR microspectroscopy indicated that P. involutus has only a very limited ability to decompose cellulose films,O-PTIR data suggested that the ability of P. involutus to decompose cellulose was substantial. Moreover, the O-PTIR method enabled the identificationof a zone located outside the fungal hyphae where the cellulose was decomposed by oxidation. We conclude that O-PTIR can provide valuable new insights into the abilities and mechanisms by which microorganisms interact with their surrounding environments.
(Less)
- author
- De Beeck, Michiel Op
LU
; Troein, Carl
LU
; Peterson, Carsten
LU
; Tunlid, Anders
LU
and Persson, Per
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-02
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- cellulose, decomposition, infrared microspectroscopy, microenvironment, microorganism, organic matter
- in
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- volume
- 90
- issue
- 2
- article number
- e01489-23.
- publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:38289133
- scopus:85185705956
- ISSN
- 0099-2240
- DOI
- 10.1128/aem.01489-23
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bfa53ffd-c6d9-4efa-a6b6-efdb1df6583f
- date added to LUP
- 2024-03-26 16:03:49
- date last changed
- 2024-04-23 19:59:09
@article{bfa53ffd-c6d9-4efa-a6b6-efdb1df6583f,
abstract = {{<p>In microbiological studies, a common goal is to link environmental factors to microbial activities. Both environmental factors and microbial activities are typically derived from bulk samples. It is becoming increasingly clear that such bulk environmental parameters poorly represent the microscale environments microorganisms experience. Using infrared (IR) microspectroscopy, the spatial distribution of chemical compound classes can be visualized, making it a useful tool for studying the interactions between microbial cells and their microenvironments. The spatial resolution of conventional IR microspectroscopy has been limited by the diffractionlimit of IR light. The recent development of optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microspectroscopy has pushed the spatial resolution of IR microspectroscopy beyond this diffractionlimit, allowing the distribution of chemical compound classes to be visualized at sub-micrometer spatial scales. To examine the potential and limitations of O-PTIR microspectroscopy to probe the interactions between fungal cells and their immediate environments, we imaged the decomposition of cellulose filmsby cells of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus and compared O-PTIR results using conventional IR microspectroscopy. Whereas the data collected with conventional IR microspectroscopy indicated that P. involutus has only a very limited ability to decompose cellulose films,O-PTIR data suggested that the ability of P. involutus to decompose cellulose was substantial. Moreover, the O-PTIR method enabled the identificationof a zone located outside the fungal hyphae where the cellulose was decomposed by oxidation. We conclude that O-PTIR can provide valuable new insights into the abilities and mechanisms by which microorganisms interact with their surrounding environments.</p>}},
author = {{De Beeck, Michiel Op and Troein, Carl and Peterson, Carsten and Tunlid, Anders and Persson, Per}},
issn = {{0099-2240}},
keywords = {{cellulose; decomposition; infrared microspectroscopy; microenvironment; microorganism; organic matter}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
publisher = {{American Society for Microbiology}},
series = {{Applied and Environmental Microbiology}},
title = {{Elucidating fungal decomposition of organic matter at sub-micrometer spatial scales using optical photothermal infrared (O-PTIR) microspectroscopy}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.01489-23}},
doi = {{10.1128/aem.01489-23}},
volume = {{90}},
year = {{2024}},
}