Figure 10. The virulence and survival of wild-type and rsmA⁻ strains over the course of potato tuber infections.

Potato tubers (n = 30) inoculated with 5×10⁶ CFU of wild-type (wt) or rsmA ⁻ cells were placed in plastic boxes and incubated at 30°C. A. At 20 h and 40 h post inoculation, macerated tissue was removed from the inoculation site and weighed. Error bars indicate standard deviation values. B. The number of bacteria residing in the infection sites infected with wt, rsmA ⁻ cells or buffer was determined by plating dilution series (green, blue and yellow). The number of rsmA⁻ bacteria present in infection sites was determined using Cm-containing plates to avoid overgrowth by other bacteria inhabiting the infection sites (red). Circles and triangles represent data from the 20 h and 40 h time points assayed, respectively. Horizontal lines represent the median values.