orp gene cluster organization in D. vulgaris Hildenborough. (A) PCR products of intergenic regions between DVU2103-DVU2104 (a), DVU2104-DVU2105 (b), DVU2105-DVU2106 (c), DVU2106-DVU2107 (d), DVU2107-DVU2108 (e), DVU2108-DVU2109 (f), and DVU2109-DVU2110 (g) from RNA (lanes 1), cDNA (lanes 2), and genomic DNA (lanes 3). Molecular size markers are indicated on the left and right (in bp). (B) Structural organization of the orp gene cluster. The arrows indicate the direction of transcription. (C) Relative quantification of orp gene expression by real-time PCR of DVU2104, DVU2106, and DVU2108 transcripts. The averages of three independent biological samples are shown, with standard deviations calculated from replicates. The amount of DVU2108 transcripts was taken as a reference (arbitrary units).