FIG. 2.

ΔprsA2::erm mutants are severely attenuated for virulence in mice. Mice were intravenously infected with 2 × 10⁴ CFU of the WT or ΔprsA2::erm, ΔprsA2::erm + pPL2-prsA2, or ΔprsA1 mutant strain, and the bacterial burden in livers and spleens was determined at 72 h postinfection. The scatter plot shows CFU obtained from the livers and spleens of five individual mice; the data are representative of three independent experiments. Solid lines and brackets represent the mean and standard error of the mean, respectively, for the data points in each group. ***, statistically significant value (P < 0.0001) for ΔprsA2::erm in both the liver and the spleen compared to WT using a one-way analysis of variance with Dunnett's posttest (GraphPad V.5.0A). Differences between WT and the ΔprsA2::erm + pPL2 prsA2 mutant or the WT and the ΔprsA1 mutant were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).