FIG 5.

ΔArcA ΔArcB phenocopies ΔArcB. The virulence of mutants with an in-frame deletion in arcA (ΔArcA) or arcB (ΔArcB) was compared with those of the wild type (WT) and a mutant with a deletion of both genes (ΔArcA ΔArcB) using the murine subcutaneous infection model. Hairless SKH1 mice were inoculated with 10⁷ CFU of each strain, and on day 3 the area of the resulting lesion was recorded (A) and the number of recoverable CFU determined (B). Data are pooled from a minimum of three independent experiments, with the bar indicating the mean for lesion area or geometric mean for bacterial burden. Each symbol plotted represents the value derived from an individual animal. Differences between each mutant compared to the wild type were tested for significance using the Mann-Whitney U test (**, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001).