Effect of the AZOBR_p60123 Plasmid Gene Encoding the Wzt Protein on Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis and Biofilm Formation in the Bacterium Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245

— Inactivation of one of the genes (CDS AZOBR_p60123) of the ABC transporter ATP-binding protein Wzt in the p60123:: aphAI mutant of Azospirillum baldaniorum Sp245 and the introduction of an additional copy of this gene into the parent or mutant strain affected the chain-length heterogeneity of O polysaccharides (OPSs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs), the OPS and LPS immunochemical characteristics, and the strain properties related to polysaccharide production (biofilm construction). Biofilms of the p60123:: aphAI mutant Sp245.4-1-1 accumulated two times less biomass than did those of Sp245. Introduction of pRK415-p60123 into the cells of Sp245.4-1-1 or Sp245 resulted in a respective increase or decrease in the ability of the resulting derivative strains to accumulate biofilm biomass, as compared with the original strains.