Fig 6. Adherence capacities of wild type and clp mutants on abiotic and root surfaces.

(A) Adherence capacities of wild type and clp mutants on polystyrene surfaces. The OD₆₀₀ values indicate the biofilm adherence capacities of the wild type, clpA mutant, clpB mutant, clpC mutant, and clpD mutant to polystyrene surfaces. The cells were grown in MSgg medium, LB medium, and MS medium, respectively. (B) Adherence capacities of wild type and clp mutants to the roots of A. thaliana. The experiments were performed five times and similar results were obtained. The values represent the means ± standard deviations based on 12 measurements. Analysis of variance detected a significant main group effect between the wild type and clp mutants (b, P < 0.05). (C) Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of wild type and clp mutants adhere to the roots surface of A. thaliana. SEM images were taken 20 min after bacterial soaking. The samples were imaged using a MIRA 3 scanning electron microscope at 10 KV. Scale bar = 5 μm.