Fig. 1. A pelA hydrolase mutant produces increased adherent biofilm biomass.

a Catalytic domain architecture of PelA. S, signal sequence; GH166, glycoside hydrolase family 166 domain referred to as PelA_h; Deacetylase; deactylase domain. * denotes the approximate location of the glycoside hydrolase catalytic variant residue, E218A. Crystal violet microtitre plate assay to quantify adherent biofilm biomass for the b P_BAD pel and c PA14 strain backgrounds, respectively. ΔpelF serves as a negative control. Error bars represent standard error of the mean of five independent trials. Statistical significance was evaluated using an ordinary one-way analysis of variance with Tukey corrections for multiple comparisons. ns, no significant difference, P ≥ 0.05; ***P < 0.001; and ****P < 0.0001. P_BAD pel, PAO1 ∆wspF ∆psl P_BADpel.