FIG. 4.
Growth of MD42 and MG1655 Strr in undiluted viscous mouse cecal mucus and cecal contents. E. coli MG1655 Strr and MD42 were inoculated separately at ∼5 × 105 CFU/ml into 2 ml of mouse cecal mucus scraped directly into 14- by 110-mm culture tubes and into 2 ml of cecal contents in 14- by 110-mm culture tubes. The cultures were incubated standing at 37°C. At the indicated times, the cultures were vortexed gently and 50-μl samples were diluted and plated. Bars representing the standard error of the log10 mean of duplicate cultures for each point are presented. (A) ▴, MG1655 Strr in cecal mucus; ▵, MD42 in cecal mucus. (B) ▪, MG1655 Strr in cecal contents; □, MD42 in cecal contents.