Figure 3. Influence of ArlRS deficiency on viable S. epidermidis cells recovery from the implanted disks in the rabbit model.

Biofilms of SE1457, WW06 and ParlRS were formed in vivo on sterile polyethylene disks that were implanted subcutaneously in three New Zealand White female rabbits. Three days after infection, the implants were removed. Biofilms were scraped from the disks and CFUs of the viable bacteria recovered from the biofilms were determined and expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Asterisks denote statistically significant difference, P<0.001.