FIG. 3.

(A) Example of line profiles (green line) obtained from the rendered S layer. (B) Averaged autocorrelation function across 222 profiles on wild-type cells. The autocorrelation decays exponentially (τ = 66 nm), showing short-range order. The dashed line represents the envelope with exponential decay. (C) Histogram of S-layer periodicity extracted from line profiles for the wild type (dashed line) and the RsaA-overexpressing construct (continuous line). Both present a peak at 22.8 nm and a standard deviation of ±2 nm, showing the elasticity of the S layer. (D) Comparison of averaged autocorrelation function between the wild type (dashed line) and rsaA mutant (continuous line). Both present the same short-range order. (E) Autocorrelation function for an individual profile showing long-range order. (F) Autocorrelation function for an individual profile showing very-short-range order.