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. 2020 Oct 7;9:e56533. doi: 10.7554/eLife.56533

Figure 1. Biofilms deform soft substrates.

Figure 1.

(A) Illustration of experimental setup where we generate thin hydrogel films at the bottom surface of microchannels. These devices allow us to study biofilm formation on hydrogels reproducing mechanical properties of host tissues. (B) In-plane and cross-sectional confocal visualizations show that V. cholerae Rg biofilms growing on hydrogels display large gaps at their core. (C) Embedding fluorescence tracer particle in the hydrogel films allow for visualization of deformations. V. cholerae Rg biofilms formed at the surface of the films deform the substrate. (D) P. aeruginosa Rg biofilms similarly deform the soft substrates. Hydrogel elastic modulus: (B and C) E = 12 kPa, (D and E) E = 38 kPa. Scale bars: (C and D) 100 µm, (B and E) 20 µm.