Paramecium bursaria - Symbiotic algae avoiding phototoxicity

Paramecium bursaria is the only Paramecium species hat is living in symbiosis with algae from the genus Zoochlorella.
The algae supply the Ciliate with food while Paramecium provides a protective environment. The Algea convert sunlight to carbohydrates and energy using photochemsitry. As strong light light can be harmful to both the algea and the host, excess excitation energy is either dissipated as heat or by fluorescence. A common process that rapidly occurs after he encounter with light is called Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). This process uses muliple mechanisms to prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that have the potential to quickly oxidize all pars of the cell which can lead to cell death, also referred to as phototoxicity.
NPQ can be visualized under the microscope as it rapidly reduces the autofluorescence of chlorophyll which is shown in this video.
Microscope:
Olympus Vanox AHBT3 with DIC and fluorescence
Objectives used:
SPlanApo 20/0.7
SPlanApo 60/1.4 Oil
Fluorescence:
Cree XM-L U2 LED
Filter Cube: BH2-DMB
The camera is a Panasonic S1 adapted with an Olympus NFK 2.5x eyepiece.
Music:
Underwater Exploration - Godmode

[@microscopyoptics2881]

Awesome video, thanks for the inspiration to look into this process myself. Looking forward to more videos like this, super interesting!

[@DuhKodaa]

Ayyy! Glad you’re back!
Beautiful footage as always ❤

[@VANOXmicroscopy]

Thank you :) Yes finally!!!

[@DuhKodaa]

@@VANOXmicroscopyI actually just bought an Olympus BH2 fitted with DIC and I’m looking to start capturing some footage of my own. I’m not as full of information as you though that’s for sure, lol. Do you have any tips on finding resources for information or maybe capturing/editing footage?

[@VANOXmicroscopy]

@@DuhKodaa First of all, congratulations! Great microscope and awesome DIC. I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with it :)
The first thing you will have to do is of course to attach your camera to your microscope. I assume your BH2 has a trinocular head which can fit NFK eyepieces? Which camera/eyepiece combo are you planing to use? The best ressource for Olympus microscopes of this era is the one of Alanwood. Maybe you already know this one: www.alanwood.net/olympus/microscopes.html
If you are refering to "how to actually make pretty pictures" then the answer is unfortunately not as easy. I find it much more difficult to achieve good quality images/videos with the microscope than in normal photography. It really is a mix of setting up your microscope correctly, having your camera attached properly (sometimes also the camera model is important thats why I was asking before), having some knowledge of video/photo ediing and I think the most importan aspect is sample preparation. Sample preparation is particularly important when you wan to achieve contrasty, sharp images/videos wih high quality microscope objectives such as Planapos because they are very sensitive to changes in cover glas thickness. So in the end it boils down to practising a lot as the learning curve is rather steep. I hope that answers your question tto some extent. If not or if you need specific information you can contact me anytime. I respond more regularly than I upload videos ;)

[@DuhKodaa]

@@VANOXmicroscopy Yeah, it’s got the trinocular head and I believe it’s a super wide head. I haven’t actually gotten a camera to use yet and I’m not sure what to get. As for the information I meant regarding specimens. Where do you find out so much about these organisms?

[@VANOXmicroscopy]

@@DuhKodaa I have a lot of literature on pond water organisms. If you DM me your E-mail address I can send you PDF copies!

[@Microscopyenthusiast]

Thanks for the video!

[@microuruguay]

Super nice

[@LikeForPresident]

Karola?

[@VANOXmicroscopy]

😍

[@LikeForPresident]

lul

[@VANOXmicroscopy]

Uff

[@ursusss]

Leave paramecium alone!