Figure 1.

(A) The qRT-PCR of A. baumannii A118, A118 Δhns and A118 Δhns pMBLe-hns genes associated with competence and type IV pilus: pilA, pilQ, pilT, comEA, comEC, comF and dprA. Fold changes were calculated using double ΔCt analysis. At least three independent samples were tested, and three technical replicates were performed from each sample. Statistical significance (* p < 0.05) was determined by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s comparison test; one asterisk: * p < 0.05; two asterisks: ** p < 0.01 and three asterisks: *** p < 0.001. (B) Natural transformation frequencies for A. baumannii A118 and A118 Δhns strains in LB broth. At least three independent replicates were performed and p < 0.05 was considered significant (t test).