Name: continuous high-resolution microscopic observation of replicative aging in budding yeast
Uploaded: 2013-08-20T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Continuous High-resolution Microscopic Observation of Replicative Aging in Budding Yeast at JoVE.com

We would like to thank Laura Schippers for writing the first versions of the cell loading protocol and Marcus de Goffau and Guille Zampar for scoring mitochondrial morphologies.

1. Production and Preparation of a Silicon Wafer Mold
Microfluidic chips are created from a silicon wafer mold produced by soft lithography. These wafers can be reused many times to produce microfluidic chips. It is advisable that production of a respective wafer is performed by a group specialized in microfluidics6.
The wafer is made in a two-step photolithography process using two different layers of negative photoresist, SU-87. The bottom laye...

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The microfluidic method described here is an important novel tool in aging research as it enables simple and automated generation of yeast replicative lifespan data in combination with continuous high resolution imaging. These attributes are major improvements over the experimental possibilities of the classical dissection method, yet there are a few limitations of the method that need to be taken into account.
Note that the determined replicative lifespan can be affected by the efficiency of ...

Budding yeast is an important model organism for aging research1. Until recently studying replicative aging in yeast cells was a laborious process requiring a dissection method, in which each bud was manually removed from the mother cell2,3. To solve this problem, we recently presented a novel microfluidic setup able to track individual mother cells throughout their entire lifespan4.
In our microfluidic chip, yeast cells are trapped under soft elastomer-based micropads (see Figure 1). A continuous flow of medium washes away newly formed daughter cells and provides the cells with fresh nutrients. In a single experiment, up to 50 mother cells can be monitored in a fully automated manner throughout their entire replicative lifespan. Due to the excellent optical properties of the microfluidic chip, it is possible to simultaneously monitor different aspects of yeast cell biology (e.g. by using fluorescent proteins).
 
Compared to the classical dissection method, the microfluidic setup provides substantial advantages. It ensures a defined and constant environment during the whole aging experiment. It requires no expensive specialized equipment and can be run on any microscope equipped with automated focus and time-lapse abilities as well as temperature-control for cell cultivation. The production and operation of the microfluidic chips can be learned within a few days. In addition, cells can be directly loaded from an exponentially growing culture, an advantage over another recently published microfluidic method5, which requires biotinylation of mother cells.a Combined with high-resolution imaging, the here described method can be used to measure gradual changes in cellular morphology, protein expression and localization during yeast aging in an unprecedented manner. The capability for long-term monitoring of single cells also provides unique possibilities for yeast cell cycle studies.
aThis method has recently been optimized to remove the biotinylation from the protocol16, which was published while this manuscript was in review.

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 <td>Name </td>
 <td>Company </td>
 <td>Catalogue number </td>
 <td>Comments </td>
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 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>REAGENTS</td>
 </tr>
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 <td>DC Sylgard 184 elastomer </td>
 <td>Mavom bv </td>
 <td>1060040 </td>
 <td>This package contains PDMS base and PDMS curing agent.</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Glass Petri dishes 120/20 mm </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>391-2850 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Cover glasses 22x40 mm </td>
 <td>CBN Labsuppliers BV </td>
 <td>190002240 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Tough-Tags </td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich </td>
 <td>Z359106 </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Aluminum foil </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Plastic disposable cup </td>
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 <td>Serological pipette 5 ml </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>612-1245 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Scotch tape </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>819-1460 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Baysilone paste (GE Bayer silicones) </td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich </td>
 <td>85403-1EA </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>PTFE microbore tubing, 0.012"ID x 0.030"OD </td>
 <td>Cole Parmer </td>
 <td>EW-06417-11 </td>
 <td>Referred to as thin tubing </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Tygon microbore Tubing, 0.030"ID x 0.090"OD </td>
 <td>Cole Parmer </td>
 <td>EW-06418-03 </td>
 <td>Referred to as thick tubing </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Scalpel </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>233-5334 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
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 <td>50 ml Luer-Lok syringes </td>
 <td>BD </td>
 <td>300137 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
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 <td>5 ml syringes, Luer tip </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>613-1599 </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Tweezers </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>232-2132 </td>
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 <td>20 Gauge Luer stubs </td>
 <td>Instech Solomon </td>
 <td>LS20 </td>
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 <td>Syringe filters (pore size 0.20 &mu;m) </td>
 <td>Sigma-Aldrich </td>
 <td>16534K </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Stainless steel catheter Plug, 20 ga x12 mm </td>
 <td>Instech Solomon </td>
 <td>SP20/12 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Petri dishes </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>391-0892 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td> EQUIPMENT</td>
 </tr>
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 <td>Benchtop UV-Ozone Cleaner </td>
 <td>NOVA Scan </td>
 <td>PSD-UVT </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Harvard Pump 11 Elite </td>
 <td>Harvard Apparatus </td>
 <td>70-4505 </td>
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 <td>SU-8 silicon master mold (wafer) </td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Self-made; For details contact corresponding author </td>
 </tr>
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 <td>Balance </td>
 <td>Sartorius corporation </td>
 <td>ED4202S </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Vacuum pump </td>
 <td>KNF Neuberger </td>
 <td>N022 AN.18 </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Desiccator </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>467-2115 </td>
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 <td>Hot plate </td>
 <td>VWR International </td>
 <td>460-3267 </td>
 <td></td>
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 <td>Optional: Metal holder for cover glass (22x40 mm) </td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Self-made; For details contact corresponding author </td>
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 <td>(Fluorescence) Microscope with 60x objective, autofocus, time-lapse abilities and preferably an automated (motorized XY control) stage </td>
 <td>Nikon </td>
 <td>Eclipse Ti-E </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

continuous high-resolution microscopic observation of replicative aging in budding yeast

We demonstrate the use of a simple microfluidic setup, in which single budding yeast cells can be tracked throughout their entire lifespan. The microfluidic chip exploits the size difference between mother and daughter cells using an array of micropads. Upon loading, cells are trapped underneath these micropads, because the distance between the micropad and cover glass is similar to the diameter of a yeast cell (3-4 &mu;m). After the loading procedure, culture medium is continuously flushed through the chip, which not only creates a constant and defined environment throughout the entire experiment, but also flushes out the emerging daughter cells, which are not retained underneath the pads due to their smaller size. The setup retains mother cells so efficiently that in a single experiment up to 50 individual cells can be monitored in a fully automated manner for 5 days or, if necessary, longer. In addition, the excellent optical properties of the chip allow high-resolution imaging of cells during the entire aging process.

In this protocol, cells are loaded into the microfluidic chip directly from mid-exponential culture. To ascertain whether the age distribution of cells trapped in the microfluidic chip is similar to that of the culture prior to loading, cells were stained with wheat agglutinin conjugated to FITC (WGA-FITC) to visualize bud scars. As can be seen in Figure 3, the entrapment of cells under the micropads of the microfluidic chip is not biased to cells of a certain age.
Replicative...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Continuous High-resolution Microscopic Observation of Replicative Aging in Budding Yeast at JoVE.com

Continuous High-resolution Microscopic Observation of Replicative Aging in Budding Yeast

We describe here the operation of a microfluidic device that allows continuous and high-resolution microscopic imaging of single budding yeast cells during their complete replicative and/or chronological lifespan.

We demonstrate the use of a simple microfluidic setup, in which single budding yeast cells can be tracked throughout their entire lifespan. The ...

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