FIG 5.
LTA is involved in biofilm formation and interaction with oral keratinocytes. (A) Quantification of biofilm biomass of S. gordonii WT, ΔltaS, ΔltaSc, and ΔsrtA strains on saliva-coated polystyrene wells. Bars represent means of results from six biological replicates ± SD. *, P < 0.05. (B) Quantitative coaggregation of S. gordonii WT and ΔltaS strains with F. nucleatum, P. gingivalis, and A. naeslundii with or without 50 mM l-arginine (R). Bars represent means of results from six biological replicates ± SD. *, P < 0.05. (C) Number of S. gordonii cell chains from the WT, ΔltaS, and ΔsrtA strains found associated with immortalized human oral keratinocytes (OKF6/TERT-2). A total of 2,921 cells derived from three separate experiments were visualized. (D) Relative hydrophobicity levels of S. gordonii ΔltaS strain, compared to the WT, as determined by association with hexadecane. The bar represents the mean of results from six biological replicates ± SD.