Fig. 1

Autoaggregation in DMEM measured as absolute OD₆₀₀ values from the top of a static culture sampled over time. a Autoaggregation of E. coli DH5α carrying pBluescript (grey closed circles on broken line), pMB2 (grey squares on broken line), pRMKO (black diamonds on broken line), pRMC (black line without marker) and control aggregative plasmid pLMJ50 (black crosses). Autoaggregation conferred by pLMJ50 (p < 0.001) and pRMKO (p < 0.01) is more pronounced than that conferred by pMB2 on DH5α. b The pefB region of pMB2. The pefB-like allele is colored yellow and is flanked by transposase/integrase genes (green). The nik transporter system genes are colored orange and the blue open-reading frame is a conserved hypothetical gene of unknown function. The %G + C content plot above the genes used a 120 nucleotide sliding window and the average value for the plasmid is 51.7%. c E. coli DH5α carrying pRMKO and pINKpefB1, the pefB gene from pMB2 cloned under the control of the arabinose promoter. Autoaggregation was measured after growth in arabinose (solid green line) or glucose (broken dark line). d E. coli ORN172 carrying pMB2 (solid green line) and pRKMO (dark broken line)