Single Cell Analysis and Sorting of Aspergillus fumigatus by Flow Cytometry

Abstract

Experimental results in fungal biology research are usually obtained as average measurements across whole populations of cells, whilst ignoring what is happening at the single cell level. Microscopy has allowed us to study single-cell behavior, but it has low throughput and cannot be used to select individual cells for downstream experiments. Here we present a method that allows for the analysis and selection of single fungal cells in high throughput by flow cytometry and fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), respectively. This protocol can be adapted for every fungal species that produces cells of up to 70 microns in diameter. After initial setting of the flow cytometry gates, which takes a single day, accurate single cell analysis and sorting can be performed. This method yields a throughput of thousands of cells per second. Selected cells can be subjected to downstream experiments to study single-cell behavior.