Fig. 1: Characterization of colonic biofilms.
From: Host responses to mucosal biofilms in the lung and gut
Colon resections from a Malaysian CRC cohort were fixed in modified Carnoy’s (methacarn) and stained with oligonucleotide probes for Bacteroidetes (green), Lachnospiraceae (red), Fusobacteria (yellow), and Proteobacteria (magenta) as previously described (Drewes et al. 2017). Host nuclei are counterstained in DAPI. Images were captured at 40X by confocal microscopy. a A polymicrobial biofilm with Fusobacterial blooms from a tumor (left) and the paired normal biofilm without Fusobacteria (right). b A Proteobacteria-dominant biofilm from a tumor (left) and the paired normal biofilm (right). c Most CRC biofilms observed to date consist of scattered mixtures of bacteria (left), but complex 3D structures can be observed including microcolonies of specific species embedded within the larger biofilm (middle) or on necrotic tumor tissue (right). d In the outer mucus layer of tumors, distinct linear organization of the bacteria can sometimes be observed, potentially representing shear forces from the flow of gastrointestinal contents (left, center, and right images). Images in a and b were originally published in Drewes et al.15 and have not been modified.
