Comparative study of microscopy methods to assess fish intestinal microvilli

Abstract

The primary function of intestinal microvilli is to increase the surface area of the intestinal lining to maximize nutrient absorption. This is especially important as fish, like other animals, need to efficiently absorb proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and minerals from their digested food to support their growth and energy needs. Despite its importance to the fish health, the small size and dense footprint of microvilli hinders its investigation and necessitates the need of advanced microscopy methods for its visualization. Characterization of the microvilli using super-resolution microscopy provides insights into their structural organization, spatial distribution, and surface properties. Here, we present a comprehensive investigation of different optical, electron and force microscopy methods for analysis of fish microvilli. The super-resolution optical microscopy methods used are 3D structured illumination microscopy (SIM), stimulated emission depletion microscopy (STED), and fluorescence fluctuation based super-resolution microscopy (FF-SRM). We also visualized the intestinal microvilli in fish using diffraction-limited optical microscopy methods including confocal and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, label-free microscopy methods, such as quantitative phase microscopy (QPM) and bright-field imaging, were also employed. To obtain ultra-high resolution, we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We demonstrate a systematic comparison of these microscopy techniques in resolving and quantifying microvilli features, ranging from 1-2 um structural morphology to 10-100 nm surface details.