Scatter plot of defined cell populations targeted for sorting.

<p>Axes represent relative differences in size of cells (FSC-A), and relative differences in complexity or granularity of cells (SSC-A). The envelopes (solid lines) define a “gate” (P1) from within which cells will be collected by the procedure. The examples in the panels show (a) the gate for the pure clone no. 08.076, which is a cryo-preserved clone from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0049046#pone.0049046-Wu1" target="_blank">[36]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0049046#pone.0049046-Wu2" target="_blank">[37]</a>. Gates (b)–(d) refer to <i>C. bombi</i> cells from raw faeces. For (a) and (b), the defined collection gates P1 are identical;(c) and (d) have adjusted P1 gates, as different clones can vary in shape and granularity. Only cells within a defined gate will be selected and sorted into the well plates. Gates can be defined and adjusted based on how variable the targeted population is. All additional cell populations contained in the sample (noise spreading along the SSC-A axis) which could be anything from microbial or fungal origin to cell debris, will be excluded. Note that this noise is much less substantial in the pure clone (a), where the only noise could be dead cells, compared to the faeces samples, which contain cells of various origins.