Deep learning-enhanced Lagrangian 3D Tracking of motile microorganisms

How microorganisms respond to and interact with their environment can vary significantly from individual to individual, which can have important microbiological and ecological implications. However, most microscopy techniques can only observe motile microorganisms for short times because of their limited fields of view. Using Lagrangian tracking, a single microorganism can be followed in 3D, potentially indefinitely, allowing to decipher individual phenotypical traits. Current Lagrangian tracking methods use the fluorescence signal emitted by the microorganism as feedback to keep it in focus. However, over long times, epifluorescent imaging can induce photobleaching and photodamage, and importantly, not all microorganisms can easily be made fluorescent. Additionally, traditional algorithms used in feedback loops to determine microorganism position are prone to errors, especially in optically complex media. Here, we present a faster, more reliable, and versatile Lagrangian tracking method that uses deep learning to determine the 3D position of the microorganism. This new method demonstrates enhanced accuracy and speed in tracking fluorescent bacteria with fluorescence microscopy also in optically complex media. Furthermore, we track bacteria with other microscopy modalities, such as brightfield microscopy -- for example, this enables us to track magnetotactic bacteria, which cannot be made fluorescent without degrading their magnetotactic properties. These novel capabilities allow to extract previously inaccessible quantitative information, significantly advancing the study of microorganism behavior -- and thus opening new avenues for research in complex biological and ecological systems.

Paper

References (6)

01Cl´ement2020 · Physical Review X
02“Magneto-aerotaxis,”2007 · Magnetoreception and Magneto-somes in Bacteria
03“DeepTrack2: A python framework for microscopy simulation and deep learning,”github
04Exploration lagrangienne des environnements complexes par les micro-organismes : suivi Lagrangien de E. coli motiles sous confinement et p´en´etration de la barri`ere de mucus , Ph.D. thesis
05Deep Learning Crash Course: A Hands-On, Project-Based In-troduction to Artificial Intelligence
06Annual Review of Condensed MatterPhysics

Similar papers

© 2026 NYSGPT2525 LLC