Live‐cell fluorescence light microscopy has emerged as an important tool in the study of cellular biology. The development of fluorescent markers in parallel with super‐resolution imaging systems has pushed light microscopy into the realm of molecular visualization at the nanometer scale. Resolutions previously only attained with electron microscopes are now within the grasp of light microscopes. However, until recently, live‐cell imaging approaches have eluded super‐resolution microscopy, hampering it from reaching its full potential for revealing the dynamic interactions in biology occurring at the single molecule level. Here we examine recent advances in the super‐resolution imaging of living cells by reviewing recent breakthroughs in single molecule localization microscopy methods such as PALM and STORM to achieve this important goal. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 95: 322–331, 2011.

Infections in broilers and broiler breeders by Enterococcus cecorum, causing clinical disease, have increasingly been described in various countries in the Northern Hemisphere over the past decade. This case report describes an outbreak of enterococcal-associated vertebral osteoarthritis (EVOA) in male broiler breeders in several flocks in South Africa. Male birds aged 4 and 9 weeks displayed the common presentation of lameness, paresis or complete paralysis. Autopsies of culled birds revealed masses on caudal thoracic vertebrae T5-T7, with vertebral osteomyelitis and spondylitis. Microbiological assays identified E. cecorum cultured from spondylitic lesions. Affected flocks were treated with amoxycillin at 25 mg/kg in the drinking water for 5 days, resulting in decreased numbers of lame birds and culls. The origin and pathogenesis of EVOA are poorly understood, which limits prevention to environmental factors that may inhibit systemic access by the enteric bacteria. Skeletal growth trends of male birds are thought to increase their susceptibility to bacterial colonisation at sites of skeletal strain, resulting in abscesses and lesions. Evidence points to the emergence of E. cecorum strains with increased pathogenicity; this highlights the need for greater understanding of the origins, treatment and prevention of EVOA to minimise its economic impact on poultry operations.