FIG 4.

Matrix production is important for conjugation. (A) WT donor cells and ICEBs1⁰ attB-down recipient cells were mated on LB, LBGM, MSNc, and MSgg for 20 h at 30°C, and the donor attB site was amplified by qPCR. There was no significant difference in the ICEBs1 excision rate when there was biofilm formation (Student’s t test). (B) sinR donor and recipient cells were mated on non-inducing media, and mating efficiency was compared to that of WT cells mated on non-biofilm-inducing (LB and MSNc [white bars]) and biofilm-inducing solid media (LBGM and MSgg [gray bars]). Mating efficiency was measured after 20 h at 30°C. sinR mutants led to higher ICEBs1 transfer efficiency compared to WT cells on noninducing media. For all panels, the results shown are representative of at least three independent experiments, and error bars represent the SEM.