Inhibition of initial adherence of E. faecium to polystyrene by the N-terminal Esp domain. The ability to block initial adherence by N-terminal Esp was studied using two different strains. Prior to the assay, strains were grown at different temperatures, and in the assay different bacterial concentrations were used. Diamonds, 5 × 107 CFU of E470 grown at 37°C; squares, 2.5 × 107 CFU of E470 grown at 37°C; triangles, 1.25 × 107 CFU of E470 grown at 37°C; circles, 5 × 107 CFU of E470 grown at 21°C; asterisks, 5 × 107 CFU of E135 grown at 37°C.