Fig 4.

Growth analysis of V. vulnificus in M9 minimal medium supplemented with glucose (A) or N-acetylneuraminic acid (sialic acid) (B) as a sole carbon source. Two V. vulnificus strains that carry the sialic acid catabolism and transporter gene clusters (YJ016 and CMCP6) and three nanA-negative strains (C7184, ss108A-3A, and 98-640 DP B9) were examined in minimal medium supplemented with glucose (A) or sialic acid (B). All cultures were grown in triplicate, and each experiment was performed at least twice using two biological replicates. Plots are represented on a natural log scale. OD, optical density. Error bars indicate standard deviations. An unpaired Student t test was used to determine statistically significant difference between cells grown in glucose and cells grown in N-acetylneuraminic acid. ***, P < 0.001.