Computer aided fluorescence imaging of photosynthetic systems

A fluorescence video imaging system utilizing relatively inexpensive commercial components is described. The instrument utilizes a black and white CCD video camera detector, a commercial video imaging board and a IBM-AT compatible computer. The color output of the imaging board greatly aids in the users ability to visually discriminate areas of interest in the video field. Software development that enables the user to capture kinetic traces in real time from the video images is also described. The system is used to monitor fluorescence from photosynthetic systems. The usefulness of the system in screening for photosynthetic mutants is also demonstrated. The cost of the system can be kept below $12,000.Abbreviations CCD charge-coupled device - DCMU diuron, 3-3,4-Dichlorophenyl]1,1-dimethylurea - AGC automatic gain control - LUT look-up table - AOI area of interest - CPU central processing unit - RAM random access memory - ADC analog-to-digital converter - FVIPS fluorescence video image processing software - I/O input/output - F₀ dark-level fluorescence - OIDPSMT characteristic transient components, where O is dark level, I is intermediary peak, D is dip, P is peak of fast transient, S is quasi-steady state level, M is second maximum, T is terminal level