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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
11:09
Clarifying and Imaging Candida albicans Biofilms
Published on: March 6, 2020
Imaging nucleic acids in biofilms
Gabriel Antonio S Minero1,2, Freja Winther Sillesen1,2, Rikke Louise Meyer1,2
1Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Gustav Wieds Vej 14, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Essays in Biochemistry
|July 30, 2026
Summary
Extracellular nucleic acids (eNA) in biofilms have diverse structures beyond B-DNA, offering unique properties. Current imaging methods miss these, hindering understanding and therapeutic development for biofilm infections.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Extracellular nucleic acids (eNA) are key components of bacterial biofilms, influencing structure, drug resistance, and immune evasion.
- eNA exist beyond canonical B-DNA, including Z-DNA, G-quadruplexes, i-motifs, triplexes, and extracellular RNA, with unique properties like nuclease resistance and catalytic activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate current visualization tools for eNA in biofilms.
- To highlight the limitations of existing methods in detecting non-canonical eNA structures.
- To provide guidance for comprehensive eNA visualization in biofilms.
Main Methods:
- Review of imaging techniques for eNA in biofilms.
- Emphasis on fluorescent DNA-binding dyes and structure-specific immunolabelling.
- Evaluation of structural biases of common dyes like propidium iodide and TOTO™-1.
Main Results:
- Widely used DNA-binding dyes exhibit structural biases, rendering non-canonical eNA structures invisible.
- This oversight impacts the interpretation of nuclease treatments and biofilm composition.
- Non-canonical eNA structures possess unique biological functions, including resistance to DNase I and roles in electron transfer.
Conclusions:
- Comprehensive eNA visualization requires integrating multiple detection methods, such as combining far-red dyes with TOTO™-1.
- Validation with structure-specific monoclonal antibodies (e.g., Z22, BG4) and functional assays is crucial.
- Understanding eNA structural diversity is essential for developing targeted therapeutics against biofilm infections.
