High-temperature live-cell imaging of cytokinesis, cell motility and cell-cell adhesion in the thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Significant technical challenges have limited the study of extremophile cell biology. For example, the absence of methods for performing high-resolution, live-cell imaging at high temperatures (>50°C) has impeded the study of cell motility and cell division in thermophilic archaea such as model organisms from the genus Sulfolobus . Here we describe a system for imaging samples at 75°C using high numerical aperture, oil-immersion lenses. With this system we observed and quantified the dynamics of cell division in the model thermoacidophilic crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius . In addition, we observed previously undescribed dynamic cell shape changes, cell motility, and cell-cell interactions, shedding significant new light on the high-temperature lifestyle of this organism.