Figure 2.

Disruption of VLP1 affects the capsule formation, melanin production, and growth under stress conditions in C. neoformans. (A) Melanin production of each Cryptococcus strain was induced in melanization media. Cell pellets (top) of the old or young cells were imaged, and the darkness (bottom) of the cells was quantified using black to white histogram analysis. (B) Capsule formation of each Cryptococcus strain was examined using India ink staining under a microscope after overnight culture (~18 h) in diluted Sabouraud medium. SAB: Sabouraud medium; bar, 10 µm. (C) Statistical analysis of the capsule formation in diluted Sabouraud medium. At least 100 cells were measured for each Cryptococcus strain, and the data are shown as the mean ±SD from three repeats. ns: not significant; ***, p < 0.001; ****, p < 0.0001. (D) Growth of each Cryptococcus strain under different stress conditions. Overnight culture of each Cryptococcus strain was first adjusted to OD600 value of 2.0 and then 10-fold serially diluted with ddH₂O. An amount of 5 µL of each dilution was dropped onto the YPD plates with different stresses and then incubated at 30 °C for 2 or 3 days. The names of the Cryptococcus strains are labeled on the left, and the culture conditions are shown on the top.