Figure 6. M. smegmatis ponA1 complements ponA1 operon depletion.

(A) The M. smegmatis ponA1 depletion strain was complemented with either a vector expressing an operon of M. smegmatis ponA1 and red fluorescent protein (RFP) or RFP alone. Complemented strains were grown in the presence (50 ng/ml ATC) or absence of inducer and growth was determined by OD₆₀₀. While the RFP complemented strain only grew in the presence of inducer, the PBP1 complemented strain grew normally in both the absence and presence of inducer. (B) At 36 hours post-induction, cultures from RFP and ponA1 complemented strains were photographed. Data is representative of several biological replicates for both strains. (C) Microscopic analysis of complemented strains—either the RFP complemented strain grown with inducer or the ponA1 complemented strain without inducer—showed that both strains expressed RFP from the complementation vector and appear morphologically normal.