Fig 3. Growth characteristics under conditions reproducing the soft tissue environment.

Comparison of the growth and changes in culture pH for the mutant panel was analyzed in a medium that reproduces conditions encountered by the bacterium during soft tissue infection (C medium + 0.1% glucose) under (A) oxygen-limited (Static) and (B) oxygenated (Shaken) conditions, with (C) the concentrations of the 3 major SCFA end-products determined following oxygen-limited growth. An exception is Only Pdh, whose SCFA profile was determined following culture in Shaken conditions since this mutant cannot grow under oxygen limited conditions. N.D. indicates levels were below the limit of detection. Data presented represents the mean and standard error of the mean derived from three experiments.