Behavior of Escherichia coli in a heterogeneous gelatin-dextran mixture

In a gelatin-dextran mixture, changing the (relative and/or absolute) concentration of the components leads to the formation of different microstructures. Confocal laser scanning microscopy illustrated that the nature of the microstructure determines the location and morphology of Escherichia coli colonies. Observations indicate that bacterial growth preferentially occurs in the dextran phase, regardless of the microstructure.