Characterization of the the L. plantarum capsular polysaccharide clusters

The bacterial cell envelope is a complex, multilayered structure that is not only essential to maintain cellular integrity, but also facilitates vital bacterial processes such as adaption, colonization and adhesion. Cell envelopes comprise a wide range of molecules, such as proteins and capsular polysaccharide (CPS), which collectively decorate the bacterial cell in a species- and strain specific manner. Here we characterized the 4 CPS gene cluster of L. plantarum and assessed the impact on CPS (combinatorial) gene deletions on surface polysaccharide composition. individual KOs of the cps clusters and the combination of all four together were compared with the WT expression in a loop design. The KO of 1-3 was directly compared to the WT (dye swapped)