Name: the use of chemostats in microbial systems biology
Uploaded: 2013-10-14T20:45:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology at JoVE.com

This work was supported by start up funds form New York University. We thank Maitreya Dunham and Matt Brauer who initially developed the use of Sixfors bioreactors as chemostats.

The principle of continuous culturing using a chemostat can be realized in a variety of implementations. In all chemostats it is essential to have 1) methods for maintaining sterility of all components, 2) a well-mixed culture, 3) appropriate aeration of the culture vessel and 4) a reliable means of media addition and culture removal. Here, we describe the use of a Sixfors bioreactor (Infors Inc) as a chemostat using methods that can be readily adapted to alternative setups.
1. Assembling the Ch...

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Chemostats enable the cultivation of microbes in growth-controlled steady-state conditions. The cells grow continuously at a constant rate resulting in an invariant external environment. This is in contrast to batch culture methods in which the external environment is continuously changing and the rate of cell growth is determined by the complex interaction of environment and genotype. Thus, a major advantage of culturing microbes in chemostats over batch cultures is the ability to experimentally control the growth rate ...

The growth of cells is regulated by complex networks of interacting genetic and environmental factors1,2. The multifactorial regulation of cell growth necessitates a system-level approach to its study. However, the rigorous study of regulated cell growth is challenged by the difficulty of experimentally controlling the rate at which cells grow. Moreover, in even the simplest experiments extracellular conditions are frequently dynamic and complex as cells continuously alter their environment as they proliferate. A solution to these problems is provided by the chemostat: a method of culturing cells that enables experimental control of cell growth rates in defined, invariant and controlled environments.
The method of continuous culturing using a chemostat was independently described by Monod3 and Novick &amp; Szilard4 in 1950. As originally conceived, cells are grown in a fixed volume of media that is continually diluted by addition of new media and simultaneous removal of old media and cells (Figure 1). Coupled ordinary differential equations (Figure 2) describe the rate of change in cell density (x) and the concentration of a growth-limiting nutrient (s) in the chemostat vessel. Importantly, this system of equations predicts a single (nonzero) stable steady-state (Figure 3) with the remarkable implication that at steady-state, the specific growth rate of the cells (i.e. the exponential growth rate constant) is equal to the rate at which the culture is diluted (D). By varying the dilution rate it is possible to establish steady-state populations of cells at different growth rates and under different conditions of nutrient limitation.
The experimental control of growth rate using chemostats was critical to the development of an understanding of how cell physiology changes with rates of growth5,6. However, this former mainstay of microbiological methods became increasingly obscure during the explosion in molecular biology research during the late twentieth century. Today, renewed interest in growth control in both microbes and multicellular organisms and the advent of genome-scale methods for systems-level analysis has renewed motivation for the use of chemostats. Here, we describe three applications that capitalize on the precise control of cell growth rates and the external environment that are uniquely possible using chemostats. First, we describe the use of chemostats to investigate how the abundance of thousands of biomolecules - such as transcripts and metabolites - are coordinately regulated with growth rate. Second, we describe how chemostats can be used to obtain precise estimates of growth-rate differences between different genotypes in nutrient-limited environments using competition experiments. Third, we describe how chemostats can be used to study adaptive evolution of cells growing in constant nutrient-poor environments. These examples exemplify the ways in which chemostats are enabling systems-level investigations of cell growth regulation, gene by environment interactions and adaptive evolution.

<table border="1">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Name of the reagent</td>
			<td>Company</td>
			<td>Catalogue number</td>
			<td>Comments (optional)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Infors-HT Sixfors Chemostat</td>
			<td>Appropriate Technical Resources, Inc.</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glass Bottle 9.5 L</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>02-887-1</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pinchcock</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>05-867</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stopper, Size 12, Green Neoprene</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-62991-42</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Straight Connector</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-30703-02</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>General purpose ties 4 in</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>NC9557052</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, Silicone Rubber</td>
			<td>Small Parts</td>
			<td>B000FMWTDE</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, Silicone, 3/8 in OD</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>02-587-1Q</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, Silicone, 7/32 in OD</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>02-587-1E</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, Stainless Steel, 3/16 in OD</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6100K164</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tubing, Stainless Steel, 3/8 in OD</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6100K161</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hook Connectors</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>14-66-18Q</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ratchet Clamp</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-06403-11</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Luer, Female</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-45512-34</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Luer, Male</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-45513-04</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Millipore Aervent MTGR05010 62 mm Filter, 0.2 &mu;m</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>MTGR05010</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PTFE Acrodisc CR 13 mm filters, 0.2 &mu;m</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>NC9131037</td>
			<td>For Media Vessel and Hosing</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Direct-Reading Flowtube for Air</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-32047-77</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Direct-Reading Flowtube for Nitrogen</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-32048-63</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Gas Proportioner Multitube Frames</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-03218-50</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Regulator, Two-Stage Analytical</td>
			<td>Airgas</td>
			<td>Y12-N145D580</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hose Adaptor, Stainless Steel</td>
			<td>Airgas</td>
			<td>Y99-26450</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hose Male Adaptor</td>
			<td>Airgas</td>
			<td>WES544</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Norprene Tubing</td>
			<td>US Plastics</td>
			<td>57280</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tripod Base</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-03218-58</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Valve Cartridges</td>
			<td>Cole-Palmer</td>
			<td>EW-03217-92</td>
			<td>For Nitrogen Gas Setup</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carboy 10 L</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>02-963-2A</td>
			<td>For Media Preperation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Steritop Sterile Vacuum Bottle-Top Filters, 1,000 ml, PES membrane; for 45 mm neck size</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>SCGP-T10-RE</td>
			<td>For Media Preperation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Media Bottle 100 ml, 45 mm neck size</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>FB-800-100</td>
			<td>For Media Preperation</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>calcium chloride&middot;2H2O</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>C79-500</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sodium chloride</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP358-1</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>magnesium sulfate&middot;7H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>230391</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>potassium phosphate monobasic</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AC424205000</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ammonium sulfate</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AC423400010</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>potassium chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>P9541</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>boric acid</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>B6768</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>copper sulfate&middot;5H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>209198</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>potassium iodide</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>60400</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ferric chloride&middot;6H2O</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>I88-100</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>manganese sulfate&middot;H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>230391</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sodium molybdate&middot;2H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M7634</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>zinc sulfate&middot;7H2O</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>Z68-500</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>biotin</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP232-1</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>calcium pantothenate</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AC24330-1000</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>folic acid</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>F7876</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>inositol (aka myo-inositol)</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AC12226-1000</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>niacin (aka nicotinic acid)</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>N4126</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>p-aminobenzoic acid</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>AC14621-2500</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>pyridoxine HCl</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>P9755</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>riboflavin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>R4500-25G</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>thiamine HCl</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>BP892-100</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Leucine</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>L8000-100G</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Uracil</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>U0750</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dextrose</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>DF0155-08-5</td>
			<td>Media Reagents</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

the use of chemostats in microbial systems biology

Cells regulate their rate of growth in response to signals from the external world. As the cell grows, diverse cellular processes must be coordinated including macromolecular synthesis, metabolism and ultimately, commitment to the cell division cycle. The chemostat, a method of experimentally controlling cell growth rate, provides a powerful means of systematically studying how growth rate impacts cellular processes - including gene expression and metabolism - and the regulatory networks that control the rate of cell growth. When maintained for hundreds of generations chemostats can be used to study adaptive evolution of microbes in environmental conditions that limit cell growth. We describe the principle of chemostat cultures, demonstrate their operation and provide examples of their various applications. Following a period of disuse after their introduction in the middle of the twentieth century, the convergence of genome-scale methodologies with a renewed interest in the regulation of cell growth and the molecular basis of adaptive evolution is stimulating a renaissance in the use of chemostats in biological research.

A major advantage of chemostats is the ability to control the growth rate of cells experimentally by varying the dilution rate. In the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the morphology of a cell is informative of its phase in the cell division cycle. Populations with higher growth rates contain a higher proportion of actively dividing cells as determined by measuring the fraction of unbudded cells (Figure 5A). Analyses of global mRNA expression in chemostat cultures has shown that the expression of...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology at JoVE.com

The Use of Chemostats in Microbial Systems Biology

Cell growth rate is a regulated process and a primary determinant of cell physiology. Continuous culturing using chemostats enables extrinsic control of cell growth rate by nutrient limitation facilitating the study of molecular networks that control cell growth and how those networks evolve to optimize cell growth.

Cells regulate their rate of growth in response to signals from the external world. As the cell grows, diverse cellular processes must be coordinated ...

the-use-of-chemostats-in-microbial-systems-biology

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

Investigating the Microbial Community in the Termite Hindgut - Interview

Jared Leadbetter explains why the termite-gut microbial community is an excellent system for studying the complex interactions between microbes.     The symbiotic relationship existing between the host insect and lignocellulose-degrading gut microbes is explained, as well as the industrial uses of these microbes for degrading plant biomass and generating biofuels.

Jared Leadbetter explains why the termite-gut microbial community is an excellent system for studying the complex interactions between microbes. The symbiotic relationship existing between the host insect and lignocellulose-degrading gut microbes is explained, as well as the industrial uses of these microbes for degrading plant biomass and generating biofuels.

Jared Leadbetter explains why the termite-gut microbial community is an excellent system for studying the complex interactions between microbes.     The ...

Layers of Symbiosis - Visualizing the Termite Hindgut Microbial Community

Jared Leadbetter takes us for a nature walk through the diversity of life resident in the termite hindgut - a microenvironment containing 250 different species found nowhere else on Earth.  Jared reveals that the symbiosis exhibited by this system is multi-layered and involves not only a relationship between the termite and its gut inhabitants, but also involves a complex web of symbiosis among the gut microbes themselves.

Jared Leadbetter takes us for a nature walk through the diversity of life resident in the termite hindgut - a microenvironment containing 250 different species found nowhere else on Earth. Jared reveals that the symbiosis exhibited by this system is multi-layered and involves not only a relationship between the termite and its gut inhabitants, but also involves a complex web of symbiosis among the gut microbes themselves.

Jared Leadbetter takes us for a nature walk through the diversity of life resident in the termite hindgut - a microenvironment containing 250 different ...

Microbial Communities in Nature and Laboratory - Interview

Biology of Microbial Communities  - Interview

Using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to Develop Diagnostic Tools

Using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems MEMS to Develop Diagnostic Tools

The use of Biofeedback in Clinical Virtual Reality: The INTREPID Project

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a constant and unspecific anxiety that interferes with daily-life activities. Its high prevalence in general population and the severe limitations it causes, point out the necessity to find new efficient strategies to treat it. Together with the cognitive-behavioral treatments, relaxation represents a useful approach for the treatment of GAD, but it has the limitation that it is hard to be learned. The INTREPID project is aimed to implement a new instrument to treat anxiety-related disorders and to test its clinical efficacy in reducing anxiety-related symptoms. The innovation of this approach is the combination of virtual reality and biofeedback, so that the first one is directly modified by the output of the second one. In this way, the patient is made aware of his or her reactions through the modification of some features of the VR environment in real time. Using mental exercises the patient learns to control these physiological parameters and using the feedback provided by the virtual environment is able to gauge his or her success. The supplemental use of portable devices, such as PDA or smart-phones, allows the patient to perform at home, individually and autonomously, the same exercises experienced in therapist's office. The goal is to anchor the learned protocol in a real life context, so enhancing the patients' ability to deal with their symptoms. The expected result is a better and faster learning of relaxation techniques, and thus an increased effectiveness of the treatment if compared with traditional clinical protocols.

The Project on Virtual Reality Intelligent Multi-sensor System for the Treatment of Anxiety-related Disorders (INTREPID) is aimed at developing a multi-sensor context-aware virtual reality system for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a constant and unspecific anxiety that interferes with daily-life ...

Window on a Microworld: Simple Microfluidic Systems for Studying Microbial Transport in Porous Media

Microbial growth and transport in porous media have important implications for the quality of groundwater and surface water, the recycling of nutrients in the environment, as well as directly for the transmission of pathogens to drinking water supplies. Natural porous media is composed of an intricate physical topology, varied surface chemistries, dynamic gradients of nutrients and electron acceptors, and a patchy distribution of microbes. These features vary substantially over a length scale of microns, making the results of macro-scale investigations of microbial transport difficult to interpret, and the validation of mechanistic models challenging. Here we demonstrate how simple microfluidic devices can be used to visualize microbial interactions with micro-structured habitats, to identify key processes influencing the observed phenomena, and to systematically validate predictive models. Simple, easy-to-use flow cells were constructed out of the transparent, biocompatible and oxygen-permeable material poly(dimethyl siloxane). Standard methods of photolithography were used to make micro-structured masters, and replica molding was used to cast micro-structured flow cells from the masters. The physical design of the flow cell chamber is adaptable to the experimental requirements: microchannels can vary from simple linear connections to complex topologies with feature sizes as small as 2 &mu;m. Our modular EcoChip flow cell array features dozens of identical chambers and flow control by a gravity-driven flow module. We demonstrate that through use of EcoChip devices, physical structures and pressure heads can be held constant or varied systematically while the influence of surface chemistry, fluid properties, or the characteristics of the microbial population is investigated. Through transport experiments using a non-pathogenic, green fluorescent protein-expressing Vibrio bacterial strain, we illustrate the importance of habitat structure, flow conditions, and inoculums size on fundamental transport phenomena, and with real-time particle-scale observations, demonstrate that microfluidics offer a compelling view of a hidden world.

Microfluidic devices can be used to visualize complex natural processes in real time and at the appropriate physical scales. We have developed a simple microfluidic device that mimics key features of natural porous media for studying growth and transport of bacteria in the subsurface.

Microbial growth and transport in porous media have important implications for the quality of groundwater and surface water, the recycling of nutrients in ...

Determining the Contribution of the Energy Systems During Exercise

One of the most important aspects of the metabolic demand is the relative contribution of the energy systems to the total energy required for a given physical activity. Although some sports are relatively easy to be reproduced in a laboratory (e.g., running and cycling), a number of sports are much more difficult to be reproduced and studied in controlled situations. This method presents how to assess the differential contribution of the energy systems in sports that are difficult to mimic in controlled laboratory conditions. The concepts shown here can be adapted to virtually any sport.
The following physiologic variables will be needed: rest oxygen consumption, exercise oxygen consumption, post-exercise oxygen consumption, rest plasma lactate concentration and post-exercise plasma peak lactate. To calculate the contribution of the aerobic metabolism, you will need the oxygen consumption at rest and during the exercise. By using the trapezoidal method, calculate the area under the curve of oxygen consumption during exercise, subtracting the area corresponding to the rest oxygen consumption. To calculate the contribution of the alactic anaerobic metabolism, the post-exercise oxygen consumption curve has to be adjusted to a mono or a bi-exponential model (chosen by the one that best fits). Then, use the terms of the fitted equation to calculate anaerobic alactic metabolism, as follows: ATP-CP metabolism = A1 (mL . s-1) x t1 (s). Finally, to calculate the contribution of the lactic anaerobic system, multiply peak plasma lactate by 3 and by the athlete&#x2019;s body mass (the result in mL is then converted to L and into kJ).
The method can be used for both continuous and intermittent exercise. This is a very interesting approach as it can be adapted to exercises and sports that are difficult to be mimicked in controlled environments. Also, this is the only available method capable of distinguishing the contribution of three different energy systems. Thus, the method allows the study of sports with great similarity to real situations, providing desirable ecological validity to the study.

This protocol allows researchers focused on exercise and sports sciences to determine the relative contribution of three different energy systems to the total energy expenditure during a large variety of exercises.

One of the most important aspects of the metabolic demand is the relative contribution of the energy systems to the total energy required for a given ...

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

The quantity and quality of detritus entering the soil determines the rate of decomposition by microbial communities as well as recycle rates of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) sequestration1,2. Plant litter comprises the majority of detritus3, and so it is assumed that decomposition is only marginally influenced by biomass inputs from animals such as herbivores and carnivores4,5. However, carnivores may influence microbial decomposition of plant litter via a chain of interactions in which predation risk alters the physiology of their herbivore prey that in turn alters soil microbial functioning when the herbivore carcasses are decomposed6. A physiological stress response by herbivores to the risk of predation can change the C:N elemental composition of herbivore biomass7,8,9 because stress from predation risk increases herbivore basal energy demands that in nutrient-limited systems forces herbivores to shift their consumption from N-rich resources to support growth and reproduction to C-rich carbohydrate resources to support heightened metabolism6. Herbivores have limited ability to store excess nutrients, so stressed herbivores excrete N as they increase carbohydrate-C consumption7. Ultimately, prey stressed by predation risk increase their body C:N ratio7,10, making them poorer quality resources for the soil microbial pool likely due to lower availability of labile N for microbial enzyme production6. Thus, decomposition of carcasses of stressed herbivores has a priming effect on the functioning of microbial communities that decreases subsequent ability to of microbes to decompose plant litter6,10,11.
We present the methodology to evaluate linkages between predation risk and litter decomposition by soil microbes. We describe how to: induce stress in herbivores from predation risk; measure those stress responses, and measure the consequences on microbial decomposition. We use insights from a model grassland ecosystem comprising the hunting spider predator (Pisuarina mira), a dominant grasshopper herbivore (Melanoplus femurrubrum),and a variety of grass and forb plants9.

We present methods to evaluate how predation risk can alter the chemical quality of herbivore prey by inducing dietary changes to meet demands of heightened stress, and how the decomposition of carcasses from these stressed herbivores slows subsequent plant litter decomposition by soil microbes.

The quantity and quality of detritus entering the soil  determines the rate of decomposition by microbial communities as well as  recycle rates of ...

Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy

Arterial stiffening is a significant risk factor and biomarker for cardiovascular disease and a hallmark of aging. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a versatile analytical tool for characterizing viscoelastic mechanical properties for a variety of materials ranging from hard (plastic, glass, metal, etc.) surfaces to cells on any substrate. It has been widely used to measure the stiffness of cells, but less frequently used to measure the stiffness of aortas. In this paper, we will describe the procedures for using AFM in contact mode to measure the ex vivo elastic modulus of unloaded mouse arteries. We describe our procedure for isolation of mouse aortas, and then provide detailed information for the AFM analysis. This includes step-by-step instructions for alignment of the laser beam, calibration of the spring constant and deflection sensitivity of the AFM probe, and acquisition of force curves. We also provide a detailed protocol for data analysis of the force curves.

Measuring the Stiffness of Ex Vivo Mouse Aortas Using Atomic Force Microscopy

We present detailed protocols for isolation of aortas from mouse and measurement of their elastic modulus using atomic force microscopy.

Arterial stiffening is a significant risk factor and biomarker for cardiovascular disease and a hallmark of aging. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a ...