FIG. 2.

Colony morphology and csh::lacZ expression patterns of hypercyst mutants. Strains of R. centenum were grown aerobically in liquid CENS medium, harvested, washed, and pipetted onto agar-solidified CENS medium in 5-μl aliquots. (A) Distinct colony morphologies observed after 3 days of incubation at 42°C. (B) The same colonies 10 min after being overlaid with 2% X-Gal. The increased β-galactosidase activities are easily observed by the rapid production of a blue color in hypercyst colonies. (C) β-Galactosidase activities of the parent strain ZJC229 and hypercyst mutants after 3 days of growth on CENS medium. Error bars represent standard deviations derived from assays performed in triplicate with three cultures for each strain.