Flow cytometer
Morgane Didry is in charge of flow cytometry as part of the BioSWOT-Med campaign. Here she explains how it works and the information it can provide on the different assemblages of phytoplankton.
Flow cytometer on board the R/V L'Atalante during the BioSWOT-Med campaign.
OCEANOGRAPHY INSTRUMENTS - Morgane Didry is a technician at the University of Aix-Marseille and works at the Institut Méditerranéen d'Océanologie on the PRECYM cytometry platform. At BioSWOT-Med, she is in charge of flow cytometry.
What are your research interests outside BioSWOT-Med?
I study marine microbiology and more specifically the distribution of different assemblages of phytoplankton, bacteria and viruses. I may have to work on local projects for researchers (as is the case for this campaign), but also for external suppliers, analysing very different samples from all over the world.
As part of the BioSWOT-Med cruise, you will be responsible for flow cytometry. What is a flow cytometer and how does it work?
Flow cytometry enables suspended particles to be counted and analysed individually at very high throughput. These particles are transported by a liquid sheath that aligns and separates them and directs them towards a light source (laser). Various parameters are then measured, enabling the cells to be classified according to their optical properties in terms of light scattering and fluorescence, giving us information about their size, structure and physiological state.
Do you take part in day and night shifts?
Yes, we'll be taking turns with Gérald Grégori for the cytometry. During the three days of the station, we'll be taking water samples in Niskin bottles and fixing the samples.
We will then take advantage of the three days spent mapping and repositioning the boat to analyse at least some of the samples (phytoplankton analyses). The rest (bacteria, viruses and heterotrophic nanoflagellates) will be analysed in the laboratory on our return.
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