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Liu F, Gaul L, Giometto A, Wu M. A high throughput array microhabitat platform reveals how light and nitrogen colimit the growth of algal cells. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9860. [PMID: 38684720 PMCID: PMC11058252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59041-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
A mechanistic understanding of algal growth is essential for maintaining a sustainable environment in an era of climate change and population expansion. It is known that algal growth is tightly controlled by complex interactive physical and chemical conditions. Many mathematical models have been proposed to describe the relation of algal growth and environmental parameters, but experimental verification has been difficult due to the lack of tools to measure cell growth under precise physical and chemical conditions. As such, current models depend on the specific testing systems, and the fitted growth kinetic constants vary widely for the same organisms in the existing literature. Here, we present a microfluidic platform where both light intensity and nutrient gradients can be well controlled for algal cell growth studies. In particular, light shading is avoided, a common problem in macroscale assays. Our results revealed that light and nitrogen colimit the growth of algal cells, with each contributing a Monod growth kinetic term in a multiplicative model. We argue that the microfluidic platform can lead towards a general culture system independent algal growth model with systematic screening of many environmental parameters. Our work advances technology for algal cell growth studies and provides essential information for future bioreactor designs and ecological predictions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Larissa Gaul
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Andrea Giometto
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Zhang B, Fu J, Du M, Jin K, Huang Q, Li J, Wang D, Hu S, Li J, Ma H. Polar coordinate active-matrix digital microfluidics for high-resolution concentration gradient generation. Lab Chip 2024; 24:2193-2201. [PMID: 38465383 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00979c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Automated concentration gradient generation is one of the most important applications of lab-on-a-chip devices. Digital microfluidics is a unique platform that can effectively achieve digitalized gradient concentration preparation. However, the dynamic range and concentration resolution of the prepared samples heavily rely on the size and the number of effective electrodes. In this work, we report an active-matrix digital microfluidic device with polar coordinate electrode arrangement. The device contains 33 different electrode sizes, generating digital droplets of different volumes. To compare with the conventional rectangular coordinate arrangement with a similar electrode number, this work shows an approximately 19 times resolution enhancement for the achievable concentration gradient. We characterized the stability and uniformity of droplets generated by electrodes of different sizes, and the coefficient of variation of stable droplets was less than 3%. The fluorescent nanomaterial's concentration quantification and glucose concentration characterization experiments were also conducted, and the correlation coefficients for the linearities were all above 0.99.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingbing Zhang
- Nanophotonics and Biophotonics Key Laboratory of Jilin Province, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China.
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
| | - Jinxin Fu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, Anhui, P. R. China
| | - Maohua Du
- Guangdong ACXEL Micro & Nano Tech Co., Ltd, Guangdong Province, 528000, P. R. China
| | - Kai Jin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
| | - Qi Huang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
| | - Jiahao Li
- ACX Instruments Ltd, St John's Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS, UK
| | - Dongping Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
| | - Siyi Hu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
- Guangdong ACXEL Micro & Nano Tech Co., Ltd, Guangdong Province, 528000, P. R. China
| | - Jinhua Li
- Nanophotonics and Biophotonics Key Laboratory of Jilin Province, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China.
| | - Hanbin Ma
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 88 Keling Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 215163, P. R. China.
- Guangdong ACXEL Micro & Nano Tech Co., Ltd, Guangdong Province, 528000, P. R. China
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Kose T, Lins TF, Wang J, O'Brien AM, Sinton D, Frederickson ME. Accelerated high-throughput imaging and phenotyping system for small organisms. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0287739. [PMID: 37478145 PMCID: PMC10361482 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Studying the complex web of interactions in biological communities requires large multifactorial experiments with sufficient statistical power. Automation tools reduce the time and labor associated with setup, data collection, and analysis in experiments that untangle these webs. We developed tools for high-throughput experimentation (HTE) in duckweeds, small aquatic plants that are amenable to autonomous experimental preparation and image-based phenotyping. We showcase the abilities of our HTE system in a study with 6,000 experimental units grown across 2,000 treatments. These automated tools facilitated the collection and analysis of time-resolved growth data, which revealed finer dynamics of plant-microbe interactions across environmental gradients. Altogether, our HTE system can run experiments with up to 11,520 experimental units and can be adapted for other small organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talha Kose
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tiago F Lins
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jessie Wang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States of America
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Lins TF, O'Brien AM, Kose T, Rochman CM, Sinton D. Toxicity of nanoplastics to zooplankton is influenced by temperature, salinity, and natural particulate matter. Environ Sci : Nano 2022; 9:2678-2690. [DOI: 10.1039/d2en00123c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Increases in temperature/salinity promote nanoplastics toxicity, while organic matter/natural colloids mitigate toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago F. Lins
- Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Anna M. O'Brien
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, M5S3B2, Ontario, Canada
| | - Talha Kose
- Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chelsea M. Rochman
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, M5S3B2, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
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O'Brien AM, Lins TF, Yang Y, Frederickson ME, Sinton D, Rochman CM. Microplastics shift impacts of climate change on a plant-microbe mutualism: Temperature, CO 2, and tire wear particles. Environ Res 2022; 203:111727. [PMID: 34339696 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic stressors can affect individual species and alter species interactions. Moreover, species interactions or the presence of multiple stressors can modify the stressor effects, yet most work focuses on single stressors and single species. Plant-microbe interactions are a class of species interactions on which ecosystems and agricultural systems depend, yet may be affected by multiple global change stressors. Here, we use duckweed and microbes from its microbiome to model responses of interacting plants and microbes to multiple stressors: climate change and tire wear particles. Climate change is occurring globally, and microplastic tire wear particles from roads now reach many ecosystems. We paired perpendicular gradients of temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) treatments with factorial manipulation of leachate from tire wear particles and duckweed microbiomes. We found that tire leachate and warmer temperatures enhanced duckweed and microbial growth, but caused effects of microbes on duckweed to become negative. However, induced negative effects of microbes were less than additive with warming and leachate. Without tire leachate, we observed that higher CO2 and temperature induced positive correlations between duckweed and microbial growth, which can strengthen mutualisms. In contrast, with tire leachate, growth correlations were never positive, and shifted negative at lower CO2, again suggesting leachate disrupts this plant-microbiome mutualism. In summary, our results demonstrate that multiple interacting stressors can affect multiple interacting species, and that leachate from tire wear particles could potentially disrupt plant-microbe mutualisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna M O'Brien
- Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Ontario, Canada; Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Tiago F Lins
- Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yamin Yang
- Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Megan E Frederickson
- Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Ontario, Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Dept. of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King's College Road, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Ontario, Canada
| | - Chelsea M Rochman
- Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks St, Toronto, M5S 3B2, Ontario, Canada
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Zhang S, Yang Y, Liu S, Dong R, Qian Z. Influence of the Hypercapnic Tumor Microenvironment on the Viability of Hela Cells Screened by a CO 2-Gradient-Generating Device. ACS Omega 2021; 6:26773-26781. [PMID: 34661031 PMCID: PMC8515822 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels outside of the physiological range are frequently encountered in the tumor microenvironment and laparoscopic pneumoperitoneum during clinical cancer therapy. Controversies exist regarding the biological effects of hypercapnia on tumor proliferation and metastasis concerning time frame, CO2 concentration, and cell type. Traditional control of gaseous microenvironments for cell growth is conducted using culture chambers that allow for a single gas concentration at a time. In the present paper, Hela cells were studied for their response to varying levels of CO2 in an aerogel-based gas gradient-generating apparatus capable of delivering a stable and quantitative linear CO2 profile in spatial and temporal domains. Cells cultured in the standard 96-well plate sandwiched in between the device were interfaced with the gas gradient generator, and the cells in each row were exposed to a known level of CO2 accordingly. Both the ratiometric pH indicator and theoretical modeling have confirmed the efficient mass transport of CO2 through the air-permeable aerogel monolith in a short period of time. Tumor cell behaviors in various hypercapnic microenvironments with gradient CO2 concentrations ranging from 12 to 89% were determined in terms of viability, morphology, and mitochondrial metabolism under acute exposure for 3 h and over a longer cultivation period for up to 72 h. A significant reduction in cell viability was noticed with increasing CO2 concentration and incubation time, which was closely associated with intracellular acidification and elevated cellular level of reactive oxygen species. Our modular device demonstrated full adaptability to the standard culture systems and high-throughput instruments, which provide the potential for simultaneously screening the responses of cells under tunable gaseous microenvironments.
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Liu F, Yazdani M, Ahner BA, Wu M. An array microhabitat device with dual gradients revealed synergistic roles of nitrogen and phosphorous in the growth of microalgae. Lab Chip 2020; 20:798-805. [PMID: 31971190 DOI: 10.1039/c9lc01153f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are an emerging environmental problem contaminating water resources and disrupting the balance of the ecosystems. HABs are caused by the sudden growth of photosynthetic algal cells in both fresh and marine water, and have been expanding in extent and appearing more frequently due to the climate change and population growth. Despite the urgency of the problem, the exact environmental conditions that trigger HABs are unknown. This is in part due to the lack of high throughput tools for screening environmental parameters in promoting the growth of photosynthetic microorganisms. In this article, we developed an array microhabitat device with well defined dual nutrient gradients suitable for quantitative studies of multiple environmental parameters in microalgal cell growth. This device enabled an ability to provide 64 different nutrient conditions [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and N : P ratio] at the same time, and the gradient generation took less than 90 min, advancing the current pond and test tube assays in terms of time and cost. Using a photosynthetic algal cell line, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, preconditioned in co-limited media, we revealed that N and P synergistically promoted cell growth. Interestingly, no discernible response was observed when single P or N gradient was imposed. Our work demonstrated the enabling capability of the microfluidic platform for screening effects of multiple environmental factors in photosynthetic cell growth, and highlighted the importance of the synergistic roles of environmental factors in algal cell growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangchen Liu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mohammad Yazdani
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Beth A Ahner
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Mingming Wu
- Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Yang Y, Guo Y, O'Brien AM, Lins TF, Rochman CM, Sinton D. Biological Responses to Climate Change and Nanoplastics Are Altered in Concert: Full-Factor Screening Reveals Effects of Multiple Stressors on Primary Producers. Environ Sci Technol 2020; 54:2401-2410. [PMID: 31985222 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b07040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
While the combined presence of global climate change and nanosized plastic particle (i.e., nanoplastic) pollution is clear, the potential for interactions between climate-change-shifting environmental parameters and nanoplastics is largely unknown. Here, we aim to understand how nanoplastics will affect species in concert with climate change in freshwater ecosystems. We utilized a high-throughput full-factorial experimental system and the model photosynthetic microorganism Scenedesmus obliquus to capture the complexity of interacting environmental stressors, including CO2, temperature, light, and nanoplastics. Under a massive number of conditions (2000+), we consistently found concentration-dependent inhibition of algal growth in the presence of polystyrene nanoparticles, highlighting a threat to primary productivity in aquatic ecosystems. Our high-treatment experiment also identified crucial interactions between nanoplastics and climate change. We found that relatively low temperature and ambient CO2 exacerbated damage induced by nanoplastics, while elevated CO2 and warmer temperatures reflecting climate change scenarios somewhat attenuated nanoplastic toxicity. Further, we revealed that nanoplastics may modulate light responses, implying that risks of nanoplastic pollution may also depend on local irradiation conditions. Our study highlights the coupled impacts of nanoplastics and climate change, as well as the value of full-factorial screening in predicting biological responses to multifaceted global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamin Yang
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road , Toronto , ON M5S 3G8 , Canada
| | - Yawen Guo
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road , Toronto , ON M5S 3G8 , Canada
| | - Anna M O'Brien
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology , University of Toronto , 25 Wilcocks Street , Toronto , ON M5S 3B2 , Canada
| | - Tiago F Lins
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road , Toronto , ON M5S 3G8 , Canada
| | - Chelsea M Rochman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology , University of Toronto , 25 Wilcocks Street , Toronto , ON M5S 3B2 , Canada
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering , University of Toronto , 5 King's College Road , Toronto , ON M5S 3G8 , Canada
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