The work in the platform for ultrastructural microscopy (PFMU) consists of high resolution ultrastructural analysis aimed at answering scientific questions in collaboration with departments of the Institut Pasteur and with other research establishments such as: INSERM, CNRS, laboratories from different Universities, Institut Curie, Necker Hospital, National Center of Reference and the International network of Pasteur Institutes.
Within these projects, new approaches and technologies are implemented or developed to obtain the best performances when answering to specific questions.
The morphological expertise of the platform lies in the following areas :

• The study of the interactions between microorganisms and host cells.

• The morphological characterization of microorganisms (bacteria,
  viruses, parasites), cells and tissues.

• The analysis of the morphological organization of biofilms.

• The investigation of frozen hydrated specimen such as viruses,
  bacteria, proteins and liposomes and the study of proteins/liposomes interaction by cryo-electron microscopy.
  
  

The PFMU has different areas of interest for itsactivities

• Implementation of cryo-correlative light electron microscopy

• Implementation of Tomography at room temperature

• High pressure freezing (cryo-fixation), leading to an improvement
   of the sample structural preservation

• Cryo-electron microscopy of vitreous sections (CEMOVIS)

• Correlative light/electron microscopy (CLEM) with TEM and SEM

• "Cryo-scanning" in scanning electron microscopy

In addition, the PFMU offers service activities for rapid diagnosis of agents responsible for new emerging diseases.
Within the institute, the PFMU offers training sessions for users to become autonomous in sample preparation as well as in the samples analysis and annual course of electron microscopyat Institut Pasteur – given by the team
Outside the institute, the PFMU participates in the organization of workshops for a wider audience as :

Sfmu 2009 : 11e Colloque de la Société Française des Microscopies, Paris, 22-26 Juin 2009

• Organisation within the conference of the Symposium « Microscopie photonique et électronique corrélative »

• Organisation within the Sfmu conference of the 2-days workshop : « Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy (CLEM) ». Sartori Anna / Bomme Perrine / Schmitt Christine

• Presentation : « Correlative Light/Electron Microscopy: A Tool for investigating Infectious Diseases ». Sartori Anna

• Presentation : « Combined use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and correlative immunofluorescence-transmission electron microscopy (IF-TEM) to study HIV cell to cell transmission ». Prévost M-C

• Presentation : « Structure of Bacillus Anthracis spores analysed by CEMOVIS ». Sachse Martin

RCCM, Lyon, 3-5 June 2009

• Presentation : « Microscopie corrélative optique/électronique: perspectives à

chaud et à froid». Sartori Anna

M&M : Microscopy and Microanalysis conference, Richmond, USA, 26-30 July 2009 :

• Organisation within the conference of the Symposium « One World, One Health, One Microscopy: Techniques, Pathogen-Host Interaction and Malaria » Sartori Anna

• Presentation : «  Correlative Light/Electron Microscopy: A Tool for investigating Infectious Diseases » Sartori Anna

Thematic day: « nano-objets pour l'imagerie du vivant », ENS-Cachan, Paris, 24 September 2009

• Presentation : « Nano-objects as Tools for Correlative Light/Electron Microscopy in Cellular Biology » Sartori Anna

Course in Electron microscopy: The «Licence Professionnelle»at the René Descartes univertsity: Industrie pharmaceutique/ Biotechnologie on scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Guadagnini Stéphanie, Mallet Adeline

Keywords: Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopy (SEM AND TEM), Ultrastructure, Immunolabeling, Cryosectioning, Cryofixation, Cryomicroscopy, CEMOVIS, Correlative Light/Electron Microscopoy

1) Pichon C, Héchard C, du Merle L, Chaudray C, Bonne I, Guadagnini S, Vandewalle A, Le Bouguénec C.
"Uropathogenic Escherichia coli AL511 requires flagellum to enter renal collecting duct cells"
Cell Microbiol, 2009 Jan 7
2) Guerbois M, Moris A, Combredet C, Najburg V, Ruffié C, Février M, Cayet N, Brandler S, Schwartz O, Tangy F.
"Live attenuated measles vaccine expressing HIV-1 Gag virus like particles covered with gp160DeltaV1V2 is strongly immunogenic".
Virology. 2009 Apr 2.
3) Rudnicka D, Feldmann J, Porrot F, Wietgrefe S, Guadagnini S, Prévost MC, Haase A, Sol-Foulon N, Schwartz O.
"Simultaneous HIV Cell-to-Cell Transmission To Multiple Targets Through Polysynapses."
J Virol. 2009 Apr 15.
4) Mallet A, Konto-Ghiorghi Y, Mairey E, Duménil G, Caliot E, Trieu-Cuot P, Dramsi S.
"Dual role for pilus in adherence to epithelial cells and biofilm formation in Streptococcus agalactiae. "
PLoS Pathog. 2009 May 8.
5) C Loussert, C. Schmitt, MC. Prevost, V. Balloy, E. Fadel , B. Philippe, C. Kauffmann-Lacroix, JP.Latgé and Anne Beauvais
"In vivo biofilm composition of Aspergillus 1 fumigatus"
For Peer Review
Cellular Microbiology. 2009 November.