FIG. 6.

Adhesion of the V. vulnificus strains. (A) INT-407 cells were cultured on glass coverslips and infected at an MOI of 10. After incubation with the bacteria for 1 h, the INT-407 monolayers were rinsed to remove any nonadhering bacteria. Light micrographs (original magnification, ×1200) show the adhesion of the wild type, the nanA mutant, and the complemented strain to the INT-407 cells. The adhered V. vulnificus cells (closed arrowheads) and the cytoplasm of the INT-407 cells (open arrowheads) are indicated. (B) The adherent bacteria were quantified and expressed as the number of bacteria per cell in the tissue culture. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.005. WT, wild type; nanA (pJH0311), nanA mutant; nanA (pHG0704), complemented strain. Error bars represent the SEM.