Fig 1.

(A) Relative expression of the cpsD and rfbP genes, encoding the priming glycosyltransferase (GTF) CpsD and RfbP in the EPS-producing strains B. animalis subsp. lactis A1 (white bars), A1dOx (light-gray bars), and A1dOxR (dark-gray bars) during growth in MRSC medium. Within each strain, the quantitative-PCR result for each gene was compared with that for the reporter gene recA, encoding recombinase A, and finally to the basal (time zero [hours]) expression level. No statistical differences, analyzed by means of analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests, were detected among strains at each incubation point. (B) EPS production, expressed as the relative fluorescence emitted after EPS labeling with concanavalin A conjugated with Alexa Fluor 488, by the strains B. animalis subsp. lactis A1 (white bars), A1dOx (light-gray bars), and A1dOxR (dark-gray bars) during growth in MRSC medium. Values of fluorescence emitted were corrected for the number of bifidobacteria obtained at each sampling point, and finally, fluorescence was calculated relative to that at the initial point (0 h). Results represent average values from three biological replicates, which were analyzed by means of one-way ANOVA tests (*, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01). Bars that are not labeled with the same letter are significantly different (P < 0.05) according to the mean-comparison least significant difference test.