Fig. 7. The sma gene is necessary for ampA mRNA accumulation and its loss phenocopies some ampA effects.(A) RT-PCR showing levels of ampA transcripts in sma knockout and ampA mutant cell lines. The sma gene is necessary for ampA mRNA accumulation and its loss phenocopies some ampA effects.(A) RT-PCR showing levels of ampA transcripts in sma knockout and ampA mutant cell lines. The higher band represents the ampA transcript product of 700 bp. The lower band is the 370 bp Ig7 control product. Similar results were obtained on at least 3 different repeats on different days with different mRNA preparations. (B) Sma knockout cells in the different ampA parental strains were fixed and stained with Alexa-488 phalloidin (green) to visualize F-actin. Images are 3D reconstructions from a confocal Z series. Scale bars: 6 µm. (C) The level of actin polymerization was measured by quantifying the amount of alexa-488-phalloidin binding to cell extracts. *Indicates a significant difference from the parental strain with P<0.05 using a Student's t-test. n = at least 2 rounds of measurements on cells grown on different days. Jessica S. Kelsey, and Daphne D. Blumberg Biology Open 2013;2:396-406 © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd