Table 3.
Degree of colocalization (by volume) of bacterial cells (stained with nucleic acid stains) and EPS (measured by reflected confocal imaging) for the various biofilms (mean and 1 SE). With no KMnO4 staining the reflected signal came from the bacteria themselves since there was colocalization between the Live/Dead stain signal and the reflected signal. The increase in reflected signal after staining with KMnO4 which was not co-localized was the contribution from the EPS.
| Degree of colocalization | PAO1 | PittD | Streptococcus aureus | Streptococcus mutans |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Without KMnO4 (cells alone) | 69 ± 3% | 33 ± 8% | 80 ± 7% | 71 ± 7% |
| Without KMnO4 (EPS alone) | 31 ± 3% | 67 ± 8% | 20 ± 7% | 29 ± 7% |
| With KMnO4 (cells alone) | 20 ± 5% | 20 ± 7% | 41 ± 10% | 67 ± 10% |
| With KMnO4 (EPS) | 80 ± 5% | 80 ± 7% | 59 ± 10% | 33 ± 10% |
| P (comparing % of reflected signal from EPS with and without KMnO4 staining. | <0.01 | 0.24 | 0.02 | 0.69 |