Fig 5. Change of morphology due to expression of GPLs.

The colony morphology was observed by an optical microscope after culturing. The J15cs strain formed rough, dry, and irregular colonies. The mc²155 strain and the mps1-complemented J15cs mutant colonies were smoothly curved and wet (a). Scanning electron microscopy (b) and a comparison of bacterial cell length (c) are shown. The bacteria were grown on nutrient agar plates for 10 days at 37°C, collected, and filtered through a 5 μm membrane to remove aggregates. The average bacterial cell length was 2.11±0.46 μm, the mc²155 strain; 5.70±1.65, the J15cs strain; 2.18±0.62 μm, the mps1-complemented J15cs mutant. The data are means±standard deviations (SD) for 20 bacteria. The separate experiments were done in duplicate. *, p<0.001.