Physiological investigations by image analysis.

Modern quantitative image analysis has been extensively used to characterize the morphology of microorganisms, especially those of the filamentous type. More recently physiological features have been quantified, making use of classical stains as well as fluorescent dyes. The potential of the technique is illustrated by a detailed analysis of the differentiation of Streptomyces ambofaciens. Three different staining procedures have been used to monitor the thinning and septation of hyphae (with propidium iodide staining), the leakage of cellular components through the membrane (with carbol gentian violet staining) and the respiration (with INT staining) in a batch submerged culture.