Single-Molecule Tracking Microscopy - A Tool for Determining the Diffusive States of Cytosolic Molecules

Summary

3D single-molecule localization microscopy is utilized to probe the spatial positions and motion trajectories of fluorescently labeled proteins in living bacterial cells. The experimental and data analysis protocol described herein determines the prevalent diffusive behaviors of cytosolic proteins based on pooled single-molecule trajectories.

Abstract

Single-molecule localization microscopy probes the position and motions of individual molecules in living cells with tens of nanometer spatial and millisecond temporal resolution. These capabilities make single-molecule localization microscopy ideally suited to study molecular level biological functions in physiologically relevant environments. Here, we demonstrate an integrated protocol for both acquisition and processing/analysis of single-molecule tracking data to extract the different diffusive states a protein of interest may exhibit. This information can be used to quantify molecular complex formation in living cells. We provide a detailed description of a camera-based 3D single-molecule localization experiment, as well as the subsequent data processing steps that yield the trajectories of individual molecules. These trajectories are then analyzed using a numerical analysis framework to extract the prevalent diffusive states of the fluorescently labeled molecules and the relative abundance of these states. The analysis framework is based on stochastic simulations of intracellular Brownian diffusion trajectories that are spatially confined by an arbitrary cell geometry. Based on the simulated trajectories, raw single-molecule images are generated and analyzed in the same way as experimental images. In this way, experimental precision and accuracy limitations, which are difficult to calibrate experimentally, are explicitly incorporated into the analysis workflow. The diffusion coefficient and relative population fractions of the prevalent diffusive states are determined by fitting the distributions of experimental values using linear combinations of simulated distributions. We demonstrate the utility of our protocol by resolving the diffusive states of a protein that exhibits different diffusive states upon forming homo- and hetero-oligomeric complexes in the cytosol of a bacterial pathogen.

Introduction

Examining the diffusive behavior of biomolecules provides insight into their biological functions. Fluorescence microscopy-based techniques have become valuable tools for observing biomolecules in their native cell environment. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS)¹ provide ensemble-averaged diffusive behaviors. Conversely, single-molecule localization microscopy enables observation of individual fluorescently tagged molecules with high spatial and temporal resolution^2,3,4. Observing individua....

Protocol

1. Double-helix point-spread-function calibration

NOTE: Images described in this and the following sections are acquired using a custom built inverted fluorescence microscope, as described in Rocha et al.²³. The same procedure is applicable to different microscope implementations designed for single-molecule localization and tracking microscopy^2,3,4. All software for image acquisition and data processing described in this article is available (https://github.com/GahlmannLab2014/Single-Molecule-Tracking-Analysis.git).

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Results

Under the experimental conditions described here (20,000 frames, trajectory length minimum of 4 localizations) and depending on the expression levels of the fluorescently labeled fusion proteins, approximately 200-3,000 localizations yielding 10-150 trajectories can be generated per cell (Figure 2a,b). A large number of trajectories is necessary to produce a well-sampled distribution of apparent diffusion coefficients. The size of FOV collect.......

Discussion

A critical factor for the successful application of the presented protocol is to ensure that single-molecule signals are well-separated from each other (i.e., they need to be sparse in space and in time (Supplementary Mov. 1)). If there is more than one fluorescing molecule in a cell at the same time, then localization could be incorrectly assigned to another molecules’ trajectory. This is referred to as the linking problem³⁰. Experimental conditions, such as protein express.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
2,6-diaminopimelic acid	Chem Impex International	5411	Necessary for growth of Y. enterocolitica cells used.
4f lenses	Thorlabs	AC508-080-A	f = 80mm, 2"
514 nm laser	Coherent	Genesis MX514 MTM	Use for fluorescence excitation
agarose	Inivtrogen	16520100	Used to make gel pads to mount liquid bacterial sample on microscope.
ammonium chloride	Sigma Aldrich	A9434	M2G ingredient.
bandpass filter	Chroma	ET510/bp	Excitation pathway.
Brain Heart Infusion	Sigma Aldrich	53286	Growth media for Y. enterocolitica.
calcium chloride	Sigma Aldrich	223506	M2G ingredient.
camera	Imaging Source	DMK 23UP031	Camera for phase contrast imaging.
dielectric phase mask	Double Helix, LLC	N/A	Produces DHPSF signal.
disodium phosphate	Sigma Aldrich	795410	M2G ingredient.
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid	Fisher Scientific	S311-100	Chelates Ca2+. Induces secretion in the T3SS.
flip mirror	Newport	8892-K	Allows for switching between fluorescence and phase contrast pathways.
fluospheres	Invitrogen	F8792	Fluorescent beads. 540/560 exication and emission wavelengths. 40 nm diameter.
glass cover slip	VWR	16004-302	#1.5, 22mmx22mm
glucose	Chem Impex International	811	M2G ingredient.
immersion oil	Olympus	Z-81025	Placed on objective lens.
iron(II) sulfate	Sigma Aldrich	F0518	M2G ingredient.
long pass filter	Semrock	LP02-514RU-25	Emission pathway.
magnesium sulfate	Fisher Scientific	S25414A	M2G ingredient.
microscope platform	Mad City Labs	custom	Platform for inverted microscope.
nalidixic acid	Sigma Aldrich	N4382	Y. enterocolitica cells used are resistant to nalidixic acid.
objective lens	Olympus	1-U2B991	60X, 1.4 NA
Ozone cleaner	Novascan	PSD-UV4	Used to eliminate background fluorescence on glass cover slips.
potassium phosphate	Sigma Aldrich	795488	M2G ingredient.
Red LED	Thorlabs	M625L3	Illuminates sample for phase contrast imaging. 625nm.
sCMOS camera	Hamamatsu	ORCA-Flash 4.0 V2	Camera for fluorescence imaging.
short pass filter	Chroma	ET700SP-2P8	Emission pathway.
Tube lens	Thorlabs	AC508-180-A	f=180 mm, 2"
Yersinia enterocolitica dHOPEMTasd	N/A	N/A	Strain AD4442, eYFP-YscQ
zero-order quarter-wave plate	Thorlabs	WPQ05M-514	Excitation pathway.