Figure 8
Generation of potential VBNC state in Escherichia coli Xen14. Bacteria were treated with various concentrations of sanitizers in the presence of different levels of dissolved organic matter content, after which propidium monoazide (PMAxx) was added. PMAxx is a membrane-impermeable dye that only penetrates and binds to DNA of damaged cells, preventing subsequent PCR amplification. As such, the cycle threshold (CT) value of intact (live) cells are low (up to 19 CT); values for potential viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells range between 20 and 27 CT, while values for dead cells are from 28 CT upwards. For further explanation please see Tenzin et al.32. Figures were generated using Prism v8 (GraphPad Software, San Diego, CA, USA).
