Figure 5. Several C. burnetii effectors slow yeast replication.

(A) Yeast strains were grown in YNB supplemented with 2% galactose to induce the expression of the indicated effector proteins listed in the legend on the right. The plots show yeast replication as determined by measuring the optical density of the culture at 600 nm (OD 600 nm, y-axis) every 30 min (x-axis) for a period of 36 h. Growth of S. cerevisiae expressing C. burnetii effectors were compared to controls that included S. cerevisiae containing the vector control (pYES2; open squares) and S. cerevisiae producing the L. pneumophila effector YlfA (pJG4-5:YlfA; red triangles). Effectors that resulted in a delay in the doubling rate of S. cerevisiae are highlighted with red symbols. (B) The doubling time of S. cerevisiae producing the indicated effector proteins was calculated during the exponential phase of growth from the growth curves shown in panel A. Effectors that resulted in a significant increase in doubling time compared to S. cerevisiae pYES2 are highlighted in open boxes (P<0.01). Data represent the mean doubling time ± SD determined from at least 3 independent growth curves.