Figure 2. Adhesion of directed gene deletion mutants to respiratory tract epithelial cells.

Adherence of aroA, ecnAB, lgt1, and the putative lipoprotein MCR_1483 to both Detroit 562 (A) and A549 (B) cells was significantly attenuated compared to wild-type (WT). Adherence levels are expressed relative to WT (n ≥ 3) and shown as means and SEM. Statistical difference was determined with a Mann-Whitney test with * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, and *** P < 0.001.