Contribution of <i>hp0197</i> to the resistance to phagocytotic killing and to CPS synthesis.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Percent of bacteria killed after 90 min incubation with murine phagocytes. The experiment was repeated five times. Error bars indicate standard deviations. “*” represents P value <0.05 of WT versus Δ<i>cps</i> group <i>or</i> WT versus Δ<i>hp0197</i> group <i>respectively.</i> (<b>B</b>) Morphology of the WT (left), the Δ<i>hp0197</i> (middle) and cΔ<i>hp0197</i> (right) strains. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the WT strain was surrounded by a thick polysaccharide capsule (52.8±10.4 nm); the thickness of the Δ<i>hp0197</i> capsule was markedly reduced (1.1±0.3 nm), and cΔ<i>hp0197</i> could if not completely, partially restore this phenotype (21.1±6.6 nm).