Immobilization of Phosphatidylserine by Ethanol and Lysozyme on the Cell Surface for Evaluation of Apoptosis-Like Decay in Activated-Sludge Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Accurate determination of microbial viability can be crucial in microbe-dominated biosystems. However, the identification of metabolic decay in bacterial cells can be elaborate and difficult. We sought to identify apoptosis-like bacterial processes by using annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) (AVF), a probe typically used to stain phosphatidylserine (PS) on exposed cell membranes. The bacterial cell wall provides a barrier that is responsible for low efficiency of direct PS staining of decayed bacterial cells. This can be overcome by pretreatment of the bacteria with 70% ethanol, which fixates the bacteria and preserves the PS status, combined with lysozyme treatment to hydrolyze the cell wall. That treatment improved the efficiency of AVF staining considerably, as shown for pure s

SUBMITTER: Chen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7357489 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature