A Look Inside A Termite’s Gut Wins The 11th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition – PRNewswire

Fabiancaptured this video using a research microscope from the 1970s, utilizing polarized light. He aimed to visually illustrate the symbiotic relationship between termites and these particular protists, to help audiences better understand the unseen role they play in our natural world. Fabian meticulously created an environment with a pH, chemical composition and temperature suited to keep the symbiontsalive. These symbionts are difficult to film due to their sensitivity to light and oxygen, and any slight changes to their environment can cause both the insect and the protists in its gut to perish.

"The most challenging part of capturing this video was finding the right solution for the creatures themselves," said Fabian. "I tried a lot of methods, even preparing my own saline solution. They're very sensitive to oxygen, so I had to remove as much gas from the solution as possible. It was very tricky, and I had to work fast. The video you're seeing is the result of months of trial and error, a lot of research and perseverance."

Protists are a wide and highly diverse array of single-celled organisms, but those featured in the winning video have formed a relationshipwith termites to process the cellulose they eat and help them derive nutrition from it and cycle carbon back into the soil. "Protists, while largely unknown to the generalpublic, are indeed the most abundant creatures on the planet," said Fabian. "There is a significant gap in our understanding aboutthese termite symbiontsand how this unique evolutionary relationship developed with its host, making it well worth exploring and presenting."

Fabian added, "The beautiful thing is that easy access to modern imaging and the internet has allowed those with an interest in microscopy to share their discoveries globally, across all boundaries of culture, language and age. The world is so small, and we can connect easily with anyone across the globe." Fabianhopes that his video will spark greater interest in Protists, as well as inspiring and encouraging more young peoples interested in STEM subjects.

"We're living in an amazing time when we have the ability to capture and share high-quality scientific imagery," said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments. "This year's winning entry highlights the power that microscopy has to connect like-minded individuals, educate others using engaging visuals, and spread scientific knowledge to the general public"

Second place was awarded to Dr. Stephanie Hachey and Dr. Christopher Hughes for their time-lapsed fluorescence microscopy video of an engineered human micro-tumor forming and metastasizing. In order to capture this video, stromal cells and cancer cells were introduced into a microfluidic platform under dynamic flow conditions and placed into a customized CO2 and humidity-controlled chamber. The platform was imaged every 15 minutes for 10 consecutive days.

The 2021 judging panel included:

For additional information, please visit http://www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter @NikonSmallWorld and Instagram @NikonInstruments.

NIKON SMALL WORLD IN MOTION WINNERS

1st PlaceFabian J. WestonPennant Hills, New South Wales, AustraliaMicrofauna in a termite gutPolarized Light10X, 20X & 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

2nd PlaceDr. Stephanie Hachey & Dr. Christopher HughesUniversity of California, IrvineDepartment of Molecular Biology and BiochemistryIrvine, California, USA10-day time-lapse of an engineered human micro-tumor forming and metastasizing. Vessels (red) support the growing tumor (blue).Confocal, Fluorescence10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

3rd PlaceAndrei SavitskyCherkassy, UkraineWater flea (Daphnia pulex) giving birth to cubsDarkfield4X (Objective Lens Magnification)

4th PlaceDr. Alexandre DumoulinUniversity of ZurichDepartment of Molecular Life SciencesZurich, SwitzerlandCommissural axons turning in an organized manner just after having crossed the midline of the central nervous systemConfocal40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

5th PlaceDr. Sachie Kanatani & Dr. Photini SinnisJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthDepartment of Molecular Microbiology and ImmunologyBaltimore, Maryland, USAInfected mosquito salivating fluorescently-labeled malaria parasites Confocal10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Sophie-Marie Aicher & Dr. Delphine PlanasInstitut Pasteur ParisDepartment of VirologyParis, le-de-France, FranceSARS-CoV-2 infection triggering cell fusion and cell death (red) in bat (Myotis myotis) brain cellsFluorescence, Phase Contrast20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Richard AlbrechtAltenstadt, Bavaria, GermanyMosquito (Culex pipiens) laying eggsReflected Light, Stereomicroscopy5X - 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Bernard Allard & Didier BarbetClub Franais de MicroscopieSucy-en-Bry, FranceHydra and Trichodina parasitesBrightfield4X - 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Giulia L. M. Boezio & Dr. Radhan RamadassMax Planck Institute for Heart and Lung ResearchDepartment of Developmental GeneticsBad Nauheim, Hessen, Germany3-day old zebrafish (Danio rerio) showing the beating heart, aorta, and connecting vessels (endothelial cells: white; blood cells: red)Confocal40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Dylan T. BurnetteVanderbilt University School of MedicineDepartment of Cell and Developmental BiologyNashville, Tennessee, USAEpithelial cells in cultureDifferential Interference Contrast (DIC)60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Dylan T. BurnetteVanderbilt University School of MedicineDepartment of Cell and Developmental BiologyNashville, Tennessee, USADNA during cell division and deathConfocal60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Nan-Shan Chang, Pei-Yi Chou, Yu-An Chen & Chen-Yu LuNational Cheng Kung UniversityDepartment of Molecular MedicineTainan, TaiwanMetastatic 231 breast cancer cells meet with L929 fibroblastsBrightfield10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Yen Fook ChewWoodend, Waimakiriri, New ZealandA cladoceran (Chydorus sp.) moving on the cocoon of a caddisfly nymph prompting a reaction. The caddisfly spends its youth as an aquatic insect before leaving the water to become airborne.Darkfield4X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Yen Fook ChewWoodend, Waimakiriri, New ZealandHaving ingested nine Chydrorus, this oligochaete worm (Chaetogaster sp.) is having difficulty with the tenth, expelling it twice. This worm feeds by powerful suction rather like a vacuum cleaner.Darkfield, Polarized Light4X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Momir FutoRudjer Boskovic InstituteDivision of Molecular Biology / Laboratory of Evolutionary GeneticsZagreb, Grad Zagreb, Croatia5-day time-lapse of Bacillus subtilis biofilm growth and developmentStereomicroscopy0.65X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Jasmin Imran Alsous, Jonathan Jackson & Dr. Adam MartinSimons Foundation Flatiron InstituteCenter for Computational BiologyCambridge, Massachusetts, USANurse cells (cyan) contract and shrink in response to myosin waves (red) as they transport their contents to the egg cell in a fruit fly egg chamber.Confocal40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dylan Jones & Dr. Brian AtkinsonUniversity of NottinghamDepartment of Plant ScienceSutton Bonington, Leicestershire, United KingdomLaser ablation and reconstruction of pearl millet crown root Laser Ablation Tomography5X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Martin Kaae KristiansenMy Microscopic WorldAalborg, Nordjylland, DenmarkTardigrade showing individual muscle strands (muscles glow with different colors depending on the orientation to the light source)Polarized Light10X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Ana Gabriela MadrigalMcGill UniversityInstitute of ParasitologySte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, CanadaNeutrophils (type of white blood cell) rolling through mouse blood vesselConfocal20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Alvaro MigottoCentro de Biologia MarinhaSo Sebastio, So Paulo, BrazilSea cucumberDarkfield1.6X - 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Danielle Parsons & Alan deHaasWonder ScienceLos Angeles, California, USATwo liquid crystals crystallizing on the same microscope slidePolarized Light20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Eric Peterman & Jeff RasmussenUniversity of WashingtonDepartment of BiologySeattle, Washington, USADebris from degenerating axons (magenta) engulfed by an immune cell (cyan) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) skin Confocal25X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Wojtek PlonkaKrakow, Malopolskie, PolandTen day time-lapse of moss growthImage Stacking6X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Wojtek PlonkaKrakow, Malopolskie, Poland10-day time-lapse of Lobelia pendula seed developmentImage Stacking6X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Martina Schaettin & Dr. Fabian F. VoigtUniversity of ZurichDepartment of Molecular Life SciencesZurich, SwitzerlandFly-through of the nervous system of a 7-day old chicken embryoLight Sheet0.8X - 4X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Dr. Shinji ShimodeYokohama National UniversityManazuru Marne Center (MMCER)Manazuru-machi, Kanagawa, JapanPelagosphaera larva (planktonic larval stage) of sipunculid worms (peanut worms)Stereomicroscopy60X - 120X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Francesca StranoVictoria University of WellingtonSchool of Biological SciencesWellington, New ZealandSea slugsStereomicroscopy6X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Maria F. Ullo & Jeremy S. LogueAlbany Medical CollegeDepartment of Regenerative and Cancer Cell BiologyAlbany, New York, USAFluorescently tagged actin filaments flowing within a blebbing human melanoma cellDeconvolution, Fluorescence60X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Gaurav Upadhyay, Vedant Kumar & Dr. Rajneesh BhardwajIIT BombayDepartment of Mechanical EngineeringMumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaWater droplet bouncing over a superhydrophobic cantilever beamBrightfield7X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Wim van EgmondMicropolitan MuseumBerkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, NetherlandsMudflat diatomsBrightfield, Darkfield, Differential Interference Contrast (DIC), Reflected Light5X, 16X, 25X (Objective Lens Magnification)

Thomas A. Zangle & Soorya PradeepUniversity of UtahDepartment of Chemical EngineeringSalt Lake City, Utah, USA5-day time-lapse of rat hippocampal neurons showing development of networks and interconnections. Contrast enhanced to highlight neurites.Quantitative Phase Microscopy20X (Objective Lens Magnification)

About Nikon Small World Photomicrography CompetitionThe Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography or video. Participants may upload digital images and videos directly at http://www.nikonsmallworld.com. For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA, or phone (631) 547-8569. Entry forms for Nikon's 2021 Small World and Small World in Motion Competitions are available at https://enter.nikonsmallworld.com/

About Nikon Instruments Inc. Nikon Instruments Inc. is the US microscopy arm of Nikon Healthcare, a world leader in the development and manufacture of optical and digital imaging technology for biomedical applications. For more information, visit https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/ or contact us at 1-800-52-NIKON.

SOURCE Nikon Instruments Inc.

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A Look Inside A Termite's Gut Wins The 11th Annual Nikon Small World in Motion Competition - PRNewswire