Table 3.
The physiological status and Gram characteristics of the microbiome.
| Physiological status | Low care | Medium care | High care | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Intact membrane (n = 8; I-IV)* | 4.53 ± 2.71% | X | 19.09 ± 3.12% | Y | 16.12 ± 5.36% | Y |
| i.SYTO9+/PI− (n = 2) | 1.72 ± 0.04% | A;X | 18.83 ± 1.58% | AB;Y | 9.33 ± 0.59% | A;Z |
| ii.TO+/PI− (n = 2) | 2.70 ± 0.03% | B;X | 16.72 ± 0.19% | B;Y | 20.52 ± 1.76% | B;Y |
| iii.BOX±/PI− (n = 2) | 8.17 ± 0.48% | C;X | 23.76 ± 1.59% | AC;Y | 20.75 ± 3.57% | BCD;Y |
| iv.SYTOX− (n = 2) | 5.53 ± 0.42% | D;X | 17.04 ± 0.02% | B;Y | 13.87 ± 1.05% | C;Y |
| (b) Polarized membrane (n = 2; BOX−) | 0.27 ± 0.06% | X | 10.29 ± 0.04% | Y | 1.46 ± 0.02% | Z |
| (c) Metabolically active (n = 4; VI-VII)** | 3.50 ± 3.35% | X | 20.08 ± 9.34% | Y | 10.59 ± 2.29% | Y |
| v.FDA+ (n = 2) | 0.25 ± 0.02% | E;X | 2.80 ± 0.38% | E;Y | 0.34 ± 0.01% | E;Z |
| vi.cFDA+ (n = 2) | 6.04 ± 0.02% | F;X | 28.01 ± 0.38% | F;Y | 12.56 ± 0.15% | F;Z |
| vii.cFDA-SE+ (n = 2) | 0.96 ± 0.03% | G;X | 12.16 ± 0.44% | G;Y | 8.62 ± 0.43% | G;Z |
| (d) Respiratory activity (n = 2; CTC+) | 10.18 ± 0.46% | X | 44.21 ± 3.56% | Y | 1.38 ± 0.33% | Z |
| (e) Gram positive (n = 2; HI+) | 12.40 ± 0.01% | X | 19.70 ± 1.58% | Y | 6.10 ± 2.35% | X |
In each column, the values with similar letters (A–D for membrane integrity and E–G for metabolic activity data) are not statistically significant. Moreover, in each row, the values with similar letters (X–Z) are not statistically significant (both p > 0.05; based on unpaired two-tailed Student's t-test). With the exception of rows marked with * and **, all the values are the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of two technical replicates.
: The values in row (a) are the mean ± SD of the percentage of cells that were not stained with either of PI or SYTOX Green (intact membrane; rows I to IV).
: The values in row (c) are the mean ± SD of the percentage of cells that were stained with either of cFDA or cFDA-SE (esterase activity; rows VI and VII respectively). The data obtained for FDA+ were not regarded for the purpose of this calculation, due to apparent passive leakage of the fluorescein dye from the cells (Data from sampling in October 2015).