Automatic Counting of Intra-Cellular Ribonucleo-Protein Aggregates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Using a Textural Approach. (13th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marin, Ambroise; Denimal, Emmanuel; Bertheau, Lucie; Guyot, Stéphane; Journaux, Ludovic; Molin, Paul
• Is Part Of: Microscopy and microanalysis. Volume 25:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 164
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2019-02-13
• Subjects: Generalized Fourier descriptors, -- Haralick, -- ribonucleo-protein aggregates, -- sub-cellular structures, -- Zernike; Microscopy -- Periodicals; Microchemistry -- Periodicals; 502.82
• DOI: 10.1017/S1431927619000084
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1431-9276

Abstract

Abstract: In the context of microbiology, recent studies show the importance of ribonucleo-protein aggregates (RNPs) for the understanding of mechanisms involved in cell responses to specific environmental conditions. The assembly and disassembly of aggregates is a dynamic process, the characterization of the stage of their evolution can be performed by the evaluation of their number. The aim of this study is to propose a method to automatically determine the count of RNPs. We show that the determination of a precise count is an issue by itself and hence, we propose three textural approaches: a classical point of view using Haralick features, a frequency point of view with generalized Fourier descriptors, and a structural point of view with Zernike moment descriptors (ZMD). These parameters are then used as inputs for a supervised classification in order to determine the most relevant. An experiment using a specific Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain presenting a fusion between a protein found in RNPs (PAB1) and the green fluorescent protein was performed to benchmark this approach. The fluorescence was observed with two-photon fluorescence microscopy. Results show that the textural approach, by mixing ZMD with Haralick features, allows for the characterization of the number of RNPs.