Flow Cytometry and Microbiology
Plankton analysis by flow cytometry.
Michael E. Sieracki and Terry L. Cucci
J.J. MacIsaac Facility for Individual Particle Analysis
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
McKown Point, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575 USA
email: msieracki@bigelow.org
email: tcucci@bigelow.org
For more information about the J.J. MacIsaac Facility for Individual Particle Analysis, please go to http://www.bigelow.org/~Sieracki
or visit our homepage on this CD ROM 
Data Examples
Below are examples of standard plots from flow cytometric analyses of cultures and different plankton communities. All analyses were done with a Becton-Dickinson FacScan flow cytometer. Two bivariate plots are shown for each sample type: one of forward vs. side scatter, and the other of forward scatter vs. chlorophyll fluorescence. Forward light scatter is primarily related to cell size. Side scatter (measured at 90 degrees) is a due to a variety of factors including refractive index, granularity and cell shape. Chlorophyll fluorescence is present only in photosynthesizing cells (i.e. plant or phytoplankton cells), or in cells that have ingested phytoplankton.
- Phytoplankton cultures
A mixture of six phytoplankton cultures that were used for a bivalve grazing study at the Bigelow Laboratory.
- Natural assemblages
- Estuarine
All particles greater than 1 um in a water sample from the York River in Virginia. White dots represent non-chlorophyll containing particles (inorganic, detritus, and heterotrophic cells). Colored dots represent the different populations of phytoplankton cells.
- Continental shelf
All particles greater than 1 um in a sample from Georges Bank. White dots represent non-chlorophyll containing particles (inorganic, detritus, and heterotrophic organisms). Colored dots represent various populations of phytoplankton cells including the phycoerythrin-containing cells of Synechococcus (red) and cryptomonads (green), and with other eukaryotic phytoplankton (blue).
- Open ocean
All particles greater than 0.5 um in a sample from the Sargasso Sea, north of Bermuda. White dots represent non-chlorophyll containing particles (inorganic, detritus, and heterotrophic organisms). Colored dots represent various groups of phytoplankton cells such as Prochlorococcus (green), the phycoerythrin-containing cells of Synechococcus (red) and other small eukaryotic phytoplankton (blue).
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CD ROM Vol 2 was produced by staff at the Purdue University Cytometry Laboratories
and distributed free of charge as an educational service to the cytometry community.
If you have any comments please direct them to
Dr. J. Paul Robinson, Professor & Director, PUCL, Purdue University, West Lafayette,
IN 47907. Phone:(317) 494-0757; FAX (317) 494-0517; Web http://www.cyto.purdue.edu EMAIL robinson@flowcyt.cyto.purdue.edu
