Direct measurements of natural planktonic bacterial community viability by flow cytometry

• DOI: 10.1128/aem.61.7.2783-2786.1995
• Publication Date: 2020-01-06T18:09:33Z
• Authors: J Porter; J Diaper; C Edwards; R Pickup
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 570; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; 6. Clean water

A range of fluorescent viability dyes were used in conjunction with flow cytometry to rapidly enumerate viable bacteria from freshwater environments. Optimal labelling was achieved by using carboxyfluorescein diacetate or chemchrome B with a detergent-mediated permeabilization step. The viable bacterial count under optimal conditions was 7% in oligotrophic lake water and 75% in polluted river water.