FIG. 5.

The gonococcal lactate permease promotes effective vaginal colonization in the murine model. (A) Bacteria were recovered from mice by vaginal swabbing on alternate days after inoculation with a 1:1 mixture of wild-type and mutant strains. The relative numbers of the wild-type and mutant strains were determined by plating to medium with and without chloramphenicol. The C.I. of the lctP mutant (GP900) for individual animals are shown as filled circles, and the mean C.I. for all animals is given at each time point. A low C.I. indicates attenuation of the mutant. (B) Duration of carriage of the wild-type, lactate permease mutant (GP900), and complemented (GP922) strains. The difference in length of colonization of GP900 is significantly shorter than that of the other strains (P < 0.01, Student's t test).