Fig 1.

Mouse model of CA-MRSA wound infection. Three 8 mm in length, parallel, full-thickness scalpel wounds on the backs of C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with 2 × 10⁵, 2 × 10⁶, or 2 × 10⁷ CFU of the bioluminescent CA-MRSA strain, USA300 LAC::lux, or no bacteria (none)/10 μl (n = 5 mice per group). (A) Mean total lesion size (cm²) ± the standard error of the mean (SEM). (B) Representative photographs of the lesions of the entire dorsal back (upper panels) and close-up photographs of the lesions (lower panels) are shown. (C) Bacterial counts as measured by in vivo bioluminescence imaging (mean total flux [photons/s] ± the SEM) (logarithmic scale). (D) Representative in vivo bioluminescent signals on a color scale overlaid on top of a grayscale image of mice. *, P < 0.05; †, P < 0.01; ‡, P < 0.001 (USA300 LAC::lux-infected mice versus none) (Student's t test [two-tailed]).