Multimodal factor evaluation system for organismal transparency by hyperspectral imaging

Takumi T Shito; Kotaro Oka; Kohji Hotta

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292524

Multimodal factor evaluation system for organismal transparency by hyperspectral imaging

PLoS One. 2023 Oct 11;18(10):e0292524. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292524. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Takumi T Shito¹, Kotaro Oka^{1

2

3

4}, Kohji Hotta¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioscience and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan.
² Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
⁴ School of Frontier Engineering, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan.

Abstract

Organismal transparency constitutes a significant concern in whole-body live imaging, yet its underlying structural, genetic, and physiological foundations remain inadequately comprehended. Diverse environmental and physiological factors (multimodal factors) are recognized for their influence on organismal transparency. However, a comprehensive and integrated quantitative evaluation system for biological transparency across a broad spectrum of wavelengths is presently lacking. In this study, we have devised an evaluation system to gauge alterations in organismal transparency induced by multimodal factors, encompassing a wide range of transmittance spanning from 380 to 1000 nm, utilizing hyperspectral microscopy. Through experimentation, we have scrutinized the impact of three environmental variables (temperature, salinity, and pH) and the effect of 11 drugs treatment containing inhibitors targeting physiological processes in the ascidian Ascidiella aspersa. This particular species, known for its exceptionally transparent eggs and embryos, serves as an ideal model. We calculated bio-transparency defined as the mean transmittance ratio of visible light within the range of 400-760 nm. Our findings reveal a positive correlation between bio-transparency and temperature, while an inverse relationship is observed with salinity levels. Notably, reduced pH levels and exposure to six drugs have led to significant decreasing in bio-transparency (ranging from 4.2% to 58.6%). Principal component analysis (PCA) on the measured transmittance data classified these factors into distinct groups. This suggest diverse pathways through which opacification occurs across different spectrum regions. The outcome of our quantitative analysis of bio-transparency holds potential applicability to diverse living organisms on multiple scales. This analytical framework also contributes to a holistic comprehension of the mechanisms underlying biological transparency, which is susceptible to many environmental and physiological modalities.

Copyright: © 2023 Shito et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Hyperspectral Imaging*
Light*
Microscopy
Principal Component Analysis
Salinity

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI (21H00440, 23H04717), Keio University Research and Education Center for Natural Sciences Budget, and KLL Keio Leading Program to KH. The Research Institute of Marine Invertebrates (IKU2021-02) supported TTS. The Keio University Doctorate Student Grant-in-Aid Program from Ushioda Memorial Fund supported TTS. JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP 22J22628 supported TTS. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.