FIG. 3.

Reduction in germination-stimulating activity of linoleic acid or cottonseed exudate due to growth of E. cloacae strains EcCT501R3 (○), EcL1 (□), and EcL1(pKVL16) (▵). Overnight cultures of E. cloacae were adjusted to a cell density of 10⁹ cfu/ml. Then, either 2 ml was placed in M9L medium (A) or 0.5 ml was placed in cottonseed exudate (15 mg/ml) (B) Cell aliquots of cultures at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 h were assessed for remaining germination-stimulating activity. The error bars represent the standard deviations. The error bars at some 24-h points are smaller than the marker.