Figure 1.

Polymers enhance quorum sensing in Vibrio cholerae. Chemical structures of P1 (A) and P2 (B). N-SIM super-resolution image of LIVE/DEAD-stained V. cholerae A1552 clustered by P1 (C). V. cholerae El Tor strains A1552 (D, E, H) or E7646 (F, G, I) containing the luminescence reporter pBB1 were adjusted to an OD₆₀₀ of 0.2 following 16 h of growth and incubated in AMW alone (black) or AMW-containing polymer P1 (D, F) or P2 (E, G) at concentrations of 0.005 (green), 0.05 (blue), or 0.5 (red) mg mL^–1. Luminescence was recorded every 30 min for 10 h and plotted as means ± SEM from at least three biological replicates. For the effect of polymers on bacterial viability to be tested, samples were removed after 10 h, serially diluted, and plated on LB (H, I).