Staphylococcus aureus formed bacterial aggregates in the plasma fraction of the hemolymph of silkworm, the larva of Bombyx mori , in a growth-dependent manner. The addition of arabinose or galactose inhibited the formation of S . aureus aggregates in the silkworm plasma. Formation of the bacterial aggregates depended on S . aureus genes required for the synthesis of bacterial surface polysaccharides– ypfP and ltaA , which are involved in lipoteichoic acid synthesis, and the tagO gene, which is involved in wall teichoic acid synthesis. These findings suggest that S . aureus forms bacterial aggregates in the silkworm plasma via bacterial surface teichoic acids.

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