Flocculation of Escherichia coli Cells in Association with Enhanced Production of Outer Membrane Vesicles

Microbial flocculation is a phenomenon of aggregation of dispersed bacterial cells in the form of flocs or flakes. In this study, the mechanism of spontaneous flocculation of Escherichia coli cells by overexpression of the bcsB gene was investigated. The flocculation induced by overexpression of bcsB was consistent among the various E. coli strains examined, including the K-12, B, and O strains, with flocs that resembled paper scraps in...