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Phototaxis is a mechanism that allows cyanobacteria to respond to fluctuations in the quality and quantity of illumination by moving either towards or away from a light source. Phototactic movement on low concentration agar or agarose plates can be analyzed at macroscopic and microscopic scales representing group behavior and single cell motility, respectively. Here, we describe a detailed procedure for phototaxis assays on both scales using the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic organisms performing oxygenic photosynthesis. The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a model organism for the study of photosynthesis, gene regulation and biotechnological applications because it is easy to manipulate genetically. Moreover, this cyanobacterium can grow photoautotrophically as well as chemoheterotrophically in the dark utilizing glucose. Microbiologists often use optical density measured with a spectrophotometer for the comparison of growth performance of different strains in liquid cultures. Because Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (especially motile strains) tend to form aggregates under stress conditions this method might be not suitable for evaluation of different strains under different growth conditions. In addition, many labs are not well equipped with standardized photobioreactors and illumination facilities to ensure reproducibility of growth curves. Here, we describe a highly reproducible spot assay for viability analysis of Cyanobacterial strains.