FIG 4.

Quantification of reducing sugars (d-galacturonic acid equivalents) in the supernatant medium produced after pectin hydrolysis by Bacteroidetes from P. americana. The red line shows the mean of d-galacturonic acid equivalents present in the supernatant of the noninoculated control medium. Values are shown as means ± standard errors of the means (SEM) from five independent experiments. Asterisks indicate significant differences in reducing sugars in the supernatants in comparison with the noninoculated control medium (**, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001).