FIG 6.
Effects of different levels of PilQ on transformation efficiency and the MIC of penicillin. PR100 was transformed in a stepwise manner to insert an IPTG-inducible copy of pilQHA at a transcriptionally silent locus on the gonococcal genome (PR100 pKH35-pilQHA). The endogenous copy of pilQ was subsequently disrupted to create PR100 pKH35-pilQHA pilQ::Ω. (A) Western blot showing the effects of 0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mM IPTG on the expression of PilQ in the strains containing an IPTG-inducible copy of pilQ. (B) The MICs of penicillin for the IPTG-inducible PilQ strains were determined in the presence of three different concentrations of IPTG (0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mM). The error bars indicate standard errors of the mean. (C) The transformation efficiencies of the IPTG-inducible PilQ strains were determined in the presence of three different concentrations of IPTG (0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mM). NT, not tested. The dotted line represents the limit of detection.