The Molecular Imaging Center (MIC) at the University of California, Berkeley is known for its use of confocal microscopes to produce some of the most compelling images, and has a reputation for being the winner of the MIC Image Contest every year. The winning entries for the 2018 MIC Image Competition will be written in the MIC’s dream calendar and will be presented as part of the Cell Picture Show for the second year in a row.
Below are three finals from the 2018 MIC Image Contest and a selection of ten works selected as honorable mentions. These images represent not only the best contributions made by the University of California at Berkeley in the field of microscopy in the past year, but also represent the talented researchers who produce images at MIC.
- Zebrafish Nerve Impulse
Author: Irene Grossrubatscher
Image Description: Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled dopaminergic neurons and noradrenergic neuron in zebrafish. This image shows the z-axis overlay of the entire brain under maximum projection. This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times. It is the champion of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Macaque Brain Rainbow
Author: Amanda McLaughlin
Image Description: Vertical brain slices of the inner retina of macaques were labeled using antibodies against Islet-1 (red), antibodies against Pax6 (green), antibodies against Cav3.1 (grey), antibodies against CD15 (yellow) and antibodies against SCGN (cyan) in three consecutive rounds of immunohistochemical analysis and imaging observations. This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times. It is the runner-up in the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Crimson Squid
Author: Eva Nichols
Image Description: Young Hawaiian macaques collected from the beach at low tide are transparently treated and imaged using a light microscope. The red signal is the nucleus (TOPRO3) and the orange signal is the cell membrane (CellMask Orange). This is a three-dimensional projection at maximum intensity obtained by image stitching, approximately 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. This image was produced in collaboration with the Ruby team at the University of Hawaii. It was taken at a magnification of 5 times. This image is the third in a 2018 MIC image competition.
- Backchannel
Author: Rose Z. Hill
Image Description: This image is a z-axis projection of the entire mouse back skin at maximum intensity after fixation and transparency. The entire mouse back skin was stained with an antibody against β-tubulin III (green) and an antibody against neurofilament H (magenta), wherein antibodies against β-tubulin III were used for labeling all feelings neurons distributed in the skin, and antibodies against neurofilament H are used to label a subpopulation of sensory neurons that detect mild touch. Hair follicles and hair shafts are autofluorescent in magenta channels. This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times using a Zeiss LSM 880 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Extend Down the Mouse Brain
Author: Rebecca Chance
Image Description: In the mouse brain, axon bundles extend down the cortex along intersecting transgenic irradiation (tdTomato+) projection neuron transcriptomics subpopulation. This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times using a Zeiss LSM 880 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Macaque Photoreceptor Cells
Author: Jacqueline Gayet
Image Description: The inner segment of the macaque photoreceptor cells shows the location of the mitochondria (magenta) and potassium channel (green). This image was taken at 63x magnification using a Zeiss LSM 880 NLO AxioExaminer microscope with Airyscan. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- All Yellow
Author: Joshua Tworig
Image Description: Single Müller glial cells (yellow) contain many special membrane components, some of which surround DAPI-stained cells (cyan), while other membrane components are produced branches around the synaptic sublayer of neuronal projection (magenta) that releases acetylcholine. This image was taken at 40x magnification using a Zeiss LSM 880 NLO AxioExaminer microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Drosophila Brain Formation
Author: Caroline Cypranowska
Image Description: A synaptic marker for the neuromuscular junction of Drosophila third instar larvae was stained (SynapGCaMP, magenta; complexin, green). This image was taken with a Zeiss LSM 780 microscope at 40x magnification. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Embryonic Stem Cell Rosette
Author: John Blair
Image Description: Twenty-day brain-like organs (DAPI, blue; Pax6, red; Nestin, green) obtained using human embryonic stem cells (ESC). This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times using a Zeiss LSM 710 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- A Neuron that Likes Sweets
Author: Gabriella Sterne
Image Description: The brain and ventral nerve cords of Drosophila melanogaster with glycosensory neurons display trans-tango techniques. Glucose sensor neurons (GFP), downstream neurons (RFP), and all presynaptic terminals (nc82, AF-647) were shown. This image was taken at 63x magnification using a Zeiss LSM 880 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Christmas Teeth
Author: Alyssa Bormann
Image Description: The ventral flank of the tridentate spiny fish expressing GFP in the tooth germ. The tendon and bone tissue were stained with alizarin red. This image was taken at a magnification of 20 times using a Zeiss LSM 880 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition.
- Direct Observation
Author: Raeline Valbuena
Image Description: Murine endogenous retrovirus-like (MuERV-L) virus particles are produced in U2OS cells. This image was taken at a magnification of 63 times using a Zeiss LSM 710 microscope. It is the honorary winner of the 2018 MIC Image Competition
Reference
Cell Picture Show—UC Berkeley Image Contest 2018