Functional Amyloids Composed of Phenol Soluble Modulins Stabilize Staphylococcus aureus Biofilms
Figure 1
Growth media influences biofilm disassembly.
Confocal micrographs of S. aureus SH1000 biofilms grown in TSBg media (A) for 30 hours readily disassemble upon exposure to biofilm matrix degrading enzymes proteinase K, dispersin B, and DNaseI at 0.2 µg/mL each. S. aureus biofilms grown in PNG media (B) for 30 hours fail to disassemble upon exposure to matrix-degrading enzymes. Images are representative of three separate experiments and each side of a grid square represents 20 µm. (C) Biofilms at the air-liquid interface of test tube cultures withstand 1% SDS exposure when grown in PNG media but disassemble when grown in TSBg. Top images show stained test tube biofilms; graph below is quantification of biofilm biomass. * P<0.002 compared to no SDS treatment.