Use of nucleic acid dyes SYTO-13, TOTO-1, and YOYO-1 in the study of Escherichia coli and marine prokaryotic populations by flow cytometry.

Three nucleic acid dyes (SYTO-13, TOTO-1, and YOYO-1) were tested on cultures of Escherichia coli and marine prokaryote populations. These dyes stain the RNA and DNA in E. coli but only respond to DNA in marine populations, according to the histograms obtained after DNase and RNase treatments.