About the Authors

Bao G. Vu

Affiliation Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America

Francoise A. Gourronc

Affiliation Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America

David A. Bernlohr

Affiliation Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology/Biophysics, University of Minnesota, Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America

Patrick M. Schlievert

Affiliation Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America

Aloysius J. Klingelhutz

aloysius-klingelhutz@uiowa.edu

Affiliation Department of Microbiology, University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, United States of America

Competing Interests

PMS is a PLOS ONE Academic Editor. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: BGV FAG DAB PMS AJK. Performed the experiments: BGV FAG AJK. Analyzed the data: BGV FAG DAB PMS AJK. Wrote the paper: BGV PMS AJK.