Fig 11. Effects of purified CabA protein on biofilm formation and colony morphology.

(A) Biofilms of the strains were grown with VFMG-CF supplemented with 0.01% arabinose, and various amounts of exogenously-provided calcium-free CabA in the absence or presence of 10 mM CaCl₂. After 24 h incubation, biofilms were quantified using CV staining. Error bars represent the SD. **, P<0.005 relative to the JN111 biofilm grown with 10 mM CaCl₂. (B) The strains were spotted onto VFMG-CF agar plates supplemented with 0.02% of arabinose and with or without 10 mM CaCl₂. After being grown for 12 h at 30°C, calcium-free CabA were added exogenously onto the growing colonies as indicated and then further incubated for 2.5 d. Each colony representing the mean rugosity of colony morphology from at least three independent experiments was visualized using a stereomicroscope (Stemi DV4, Zeiss) at an 8× magnification. Bars, 1 mm; JN111, parent strain; cabA, cabA mutant.