Cultivation-Free Raman Spectroscopic Investigations of Bacteria

Björn Lorenz; Christina Wichmann; Stephan Stöckel; Petra Rösch; Jürgen Popp

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2017.01.002

Cultivation-Free Raman Spectroscopic Investigations of Bacteria

Trends Microbiol. 2017 May;25(5):413-424. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.01.002. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

Authors

Björn Lorenz¹, Christina Wichmann², Stephan Stöckel¹, Petra Rösch³, Jürgen Popp⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany; InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany.
² InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, 07745 Jena, Germany.
³ Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany; InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany. Electronic address: petra.roesch@uni-jena.de.
⁴ Institute of Physical Chemistry and Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Helmholtzweg 4, 07743 Jena, Germany; InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena, Philosophenweg 7, 07743 Jena, Germany; Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Straße 9, 07745 Jena, Germany.

PMID: 28188076
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.01.002

Abstract

Raman spectroscopy is currently advertised as a hot and ambitious technology that has all of the features needed to characterize and identify bacteria. Raman spectroscopy is rapid, easy to use, noninvasive, and it could complement established microbiological and biomolecular methods in the near future. To bring this vision closer to reality, ongoing research is being conducted on spectral fingerprinting. This can yield a wealth of information, from even single bacteria from various habitats which can be further improved by combining Raman spectroscopy with methods such as stable isotope probing to elucidate microbial interactions. In conjunction with extensive statistical analysis, Raman spectroscopy will allow identification of (non)pathogenic bacteria at different taxonomic levels.

Keywords: Bacteria; Cell components; Identification; Raman spectroscopy; Single-cell analysis; Stable isotope probing.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteria / chemistry*
Bacteria / isolation & purification*
Bacteria / metabolism
Isotope Labeling
Microbial Interactions
Phenotype
Single-Cell Analysis / methods*
Spectrum Analysis, Raman / methods*