FIG 1 .

Growth rate and morphology differences between P314 B. pseudomallei isolates. The initial isolate, MSHR1043, grows well after 48 and 72 h of incubation on selective Ashdown’s agar (without gentamicin) (top and bottom left, respectively). In contrast, the 139-month isolate, MSHR6686, exhibits a substantially slower growth rate and morphological differences that make it difficult to recognize as B. pseudomallei (48 and 72 h of growth, top and bottom right, respectively). The growth rate difference is likely due to considerable genetic loss affecting 221 genes on chromosome 2.