Fig 7.

Mbs1 is involved in production of melanin and capsule. (A) For melanin assay, the WT (H99), cac1Δ (YSB42), mbs1Δ (YSB488), and mbs1Δ/MBS1 (YSB1195) strains were spotted onto agar-based l-DOPA and Niger seed media containing the indicated concentration of glucose, grown at either 30°C or 37°C for 5 to 7 days, and photographed. (B) Capsule synthesis levels of C. neoformans strains (WT [H99], cac1Δ [YSB42], mbs1Δ [YSB488], and mbs1Δ/MBS1 [YSB1195] strains) were quantitatively measured by using hematocrit, as described in Materials and Methods. The relative capsule volume of the cells was measured by calculating the ratio of the length of packed cell volume phase/length of total volume phase. Two independent experiments with triplicates were performed. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Bonferroni multiple-comparison test. NS, not significant; *, P < 0.001.