TABLE 6.
Tissue colonization by wild-type PA103 and retS, exoU, exoT, and exoU exoT mutants in the 6-h healing murine model of corneal infection at 48 h postinoculation
| Strain | Infecting dose (no. of CFU [106] in 5 μl) | Median final viable count (CFU/ml) (lower quartile-upper quartile) |
|---|---|---|
| PA103 | 2.3 | 2.40 × 107 (2.00 × 107-2.85 × 107) |
| retS mutant | 3.3 | 2.55 × 105 (1.55 × 105-4.80 × 105)a |
| exoU mutant | 2.5 | 2.75 × 107 (0.77 × 107-3.90 × 107) |
| exoT mutant | 3.0 | 2.25 × 107 (1.55 × 107-2.70 × 107) |
| exoUT mutant | 3.1 | 1.65 × 104 (0.79 × 104-1.80 × 104) |
a
A 15-fold increase in colonization by retS over that by the exoU exoT double mutant (P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney test).