Visualising microorganisms from molecules to cells Visual methods have been a central part of the study of microbial life since its beginnings. Microbiologists have used increasingly sophisticated microscopes to examine living cells, and fixed, stained and labelled cells, in clever ways to reveal their inner secrets. As part of their work, scientists have documented their findings with photographs, illustrations, and models of the cells and their properties.
These visual methods have played an important role in presenting microbial research in the FEMS journals. In this second of the four 40th anniversary Virtual Issues, images from 10 FEMS articles have been chosen to exemplify the diversity of visualisation used in microbiology. Read on to find out how far microbial imaging has come in the last 40 years.
David Goodsell is Associate Professor of Molecular Biology at the Scripps Research Institute La Jolla, California, USA. His research uses computer graphics and simulation to study structure/ function relationships in key biological systems. Science outreach is also a strong focus, with projects such as the “Molecule of the Month,� a feature at the RCSB Protein Data Bank that presents the structure and function of a new molecule each month, and several illustrated books on biological molecules, their diverse roles within living cells, and the growing connections between biology and nanotechnology. Visit Goodsell’s homepage on Molecular Art/ Molecular Science here.
Dieter Haas is Emeritus Professor, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, a former President of the Swiss Society for Microbiology and a former delegate of that society to FEMS. He taught general microbiology, bacterial genetics and microbeplant interactions. As the Chief Editor of FEMS Microbiology Reviews from 2009 to 2013, he required that reviews should not only be of high scientific quality, but also be pleasant to read by both specialists and nonspecialists alike. Authors were reminded of the importance of illustrations. Whenever appropriate, they should show structures of microorganisms and molecules and the use of high-standard colour figures, diagrams or photographs was strongly encouraged.
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