FIG. 5.

Survival of P. putida DOT-T1E and its ΔrpoT mutant upon solvent shock. The strains used were P. putida DOT-T1E (A), DOT-T1E-ΔrpoT (B), and DOT-T1E-PS28 (C). Cells were grown in 30 ml LB medium (circles) or LB medium with toluene in the gas phase (triangles) until the culture reached a turbidity of about 0.8 at 660 nm. The culture was divided into two halves, and to one we added 0.3% (vol/vol) toluene (closed symbols) while the other was kept as a control (open symbols). The numbers of viable cells were determined at the indicated times. The data are the averages of 6 to 10 determinations, with standard deviations in the range of 3 to 8% of the given values.