FIG 4.

Time-resolved, quantitative transcript profiles of A. aromaticum EbN1 in response to different extracellular effector concentrations. (A) p-Cresol as the effector. The selected transcripts represent genes (Fig. 1) coding for enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of p-cresol (hcl2, cmh, and hbd). (B) p-Ethylphenol as the effector. The selected transcripts represent genes coding for enzymes involved in the anaerobic degradation of p-ethylphenol (acsA, hped, and emhF) (19). In both cases, relative transcript abundances were determined by means of qRT-PCR, with the time point of 5 min prior to effector addition serving as a reference. Each data point is based on 3 biological replicates with 3 technical replicates analyzed for each. Growth data of the cultures providing the RNA samples for all conditions tested are shown in detail in Fig. S1 (for p-cresol) and Fig. S2 (for p-ethylphenol).