Fig. 7.

Schematic of the Dif and Che7 pathways and their interactions in the suppressor strain. In the wild-type (left), both DifA and Mcp7 interact with their cognate partners. Signal input into the Dif pathway is mediated by Tfp with an output of EPS production. Neither the input signal nor the output response of the Che7 pathway is currently known. In cheW7 mutants (right), Mcp7 and DifA may compete for interactions with DifC and DifE to regulate EPS production. DifA likely has a higher affinity for DifC and DifE than Mcp7. When both DifA and CheW7 are eliminated, Mcp7 may stably interact with DifC and DifE to regulate EPS production.