FIG 5.

Role of Tlp1-mediated chemotaxis toward formate in the growth of C. jejuni. (A) Schematic representation of the experimental design used to generate the formate gradient in the unstirred culture. (B) Bacterial numbers of C. jejuni WT and ΔTlp1 cells grown individually in BB medium for 36 h, in the presence (red) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient, as determined using the plate-counting method. (C) Bacterial numbers of WT and ΔTlp1 cells cocultured for 36 h, in the presence (red) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient. The two strains were initially inoculated at a ratio of 1:1. (D) The ratio of WT and ΔTlp1 cells in the presence (orange) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient, as calculated based on the bacterial numbers in the coculture shown in panel C. (E) Bacterial numbers of C. jejuni WT and ΔCheY cells grown individually in BB medium for 36 h, under unstirred conditions, in the presence (red) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient. (F) Bacterial numbers of WT and ΔCheY cells cocultured for 36 h, in the presence (red) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient. The two strains were initially inoculated at a ratio of 1:1. (G) The ratio of WT and ΔCheY cells in the presence (orange) or absence (gray) of the formate gradient, as calculated based on the bacterial numbers in the coculture shown in panel F. The P values were calculated using a paired t test. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001. The error bars indicate the standard errors of five replicates. WT, wild type.