FIG 3.

Bacterial growth in the lungs of mice infected with M. tuberculosis Beijing strains of modern and ancient sublineages. C57BL/6 mice were i.t. inoculated with 10² bacilli of each strain, and lungs were examined for the bacterial growth by CFU test. (A) Bacterial burdens in the lungs determined 28 days p.i. Each symbol represents the value for an individual mouse. (B) Bacterial curves within 120 days p.i. Results of at least three experiments (three mice in each group at each time point) are expressed logarithmically as the mean log₁₀ CFU ± standard deviation (SD) (error bars). Mean values that were significantly different from the mean value of the group infected by H37Rv strain are indicated by asterisks as follows: *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.