FIG. 4.

HSPG deficiency confers a survival advantage on the host infected with GBS expressing GAG binding-deficient ACP. We crossed HSPG mutant flies with strain OreR to generate flies with heterozygous mutations in one or more HSPGs, as indicated, and then infected OreR flies and the resulting mutants with A909/R185A, the GBS strain with a charge-neutralizing mutation impairing ACP-GAG binding. Mutant flies survived longer than OreR flies (median survival times, >100 h for all mutants versus 48 h for OreR flies [P < 0.005; log-rank test]). Flies injected with broth only survived at rates above 90% (data not shown).