MedA and StuA are required for biofilm formation, adherence to plastic, and galactosaminogalactan (GAG) production.

<p>(A) Formation of biofilms by hyphae of the indicated strains after 24 h growth on polystyrene plates. After washing, hyphae were stained with crystal violet for visualization. (B) Adherence of germlings of the indicated strains to polystyrene plates. (C) GalNAc content of the hyphal cell wall of the indicated <i>A. fumigatus</i> strains. Results are expressed as a percentage of the total carbohydrate content of the alkali insoluble fraction of the cell wall. (D) Amount of GAG released in the culture supernatant of the indicated strains after 48 h growth, normalized to the culture dry weight. (E) Effects of GAG supplementation on germling adherence of the indicated strains. 6-well polystyrene culture plates were coated with GAG extracted from Af293 culture at the indicated concentration overnight at 4°C before testing the adherence of germlings. All graphs indicate mean ± standard error and represent data obtained from at least three independent experiments performed on separate days. For graphs (B–D) *indicates a significant reduction as compared with the wild-type Af293 strain, with <i>p</i> value<0.05 by factor ANOVA. For graph (E): * and ^§ indicate increased adherence of strains with the addition of GAG with <i>p</i> values of <0.05 and = 0.08, respectively, by factor ANOVA.