Figure 6. Growth curves of ancestral and evolved E. coli.

The growth curves of Anc(C), M54(C), M163(C), and M165_2(C) without phage infection were plotted based on OD₆₀₀ and CFU/ml. Each experiment was conducted in duplicate. The open circles and closed triangles represent the OD₆₀₀ and CFU/ml, respectively. The specific growth rate (μ) calculated from the semi-logarithmic plots based on OD₆₀₀ of Anc(C), M54(C), M163(C), and M165_2(C) were 0.382 h⁻¹ (r² = 0.998), 0.396 h⁻¹ (r² = 0.996), 0.461 h⁻¹ (r² = 0.998), and 0.466 h⁻¹ (r² = 0.996), respectively. The times to reach stationary phase based on OD₆₀₀ of Anc(C), M54(C), M163(C), and M165_2(C) were 4.60 and 4.57 h, 4.47 and 4.44 h, 3.86 and 3.83 h, and 3.88 and 3.82 h, respectively.