Detection of bacteria in environmental waters using the NovoCyte flow cytometer

Traditional methods of bacterial identification are based on observations of either the morphology of single cells or colony characteristics when grown on agar. However, the microbes grown on agar medium with visible colonies are less than 1% of the total, and most bacteria, though obviously present and active, aren’t efficiently cultured. Flow cytometers with a high sensitivity of detection provide tools for detecting and analyzing microbes independent of their cultivability. The size, number, nucleic acid content, activity, and classification of bacteria can be derived from scattered light and fluorescence signals using flow cytometry. Applications utilizing microbial detection cover everything from drinking water /waste water system monitoring, industrial biotechnology, food and drug quality control, to soil and water microbial ecology. This method allows precise and rapid determinations of microbial bulk parameters and delivers detailed information on the general microbial state.

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