RovM does not contribute to biofilm blockage, growth and survival of Y. pestis in the flea gut.

Flea infection of the Y. pestis KIM6+ WT (grey), Y. pestis KIM6+ ΔrovM (pACYC177) mutant (black) and corresponding Y. pestis KIM6+ ΔrovM (pACrovM) complemented mutant strain (unfilled). The percentage of fleas that develop blockage after infection (A), percentage of infected fleas (B) and average bacterial load (cfu/flea) (C) are not different between the ΔrovM (pACYC177) mutant, wild type or complemented ΔrovM (pACrovM) strains for the 2–3 independent flea infection studies presented. An average of 20 fleas per strain at each time point represents data for cfu/flea and percentage of infected fleas for the studies. Error bars are the mean±SD of 2–3 independent biological replicates.