FIG 5.

A. faecalis ZD02 and the Esp protein damaged the intestines of C. elegans. Wild-type N2 L4-stage worms were fed the normal food E. coli OP50 (A), A. faecalis ZD02 (B), BSA (as the control) (D), and Esp protein (E) at 20°C for 24 h. The anterior intestines of the nematodes were photographed using a differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope. Arrows indicate intestinal damage by A. faecalis ZD02. (C) Frequency of intestinal damage in worms fed E. coli OP50 or A. faecalis ZD02. (F) Frequency of intestinal damage in worms fed BSA or Esp. Values are the percentage of worms with damaged intestines. More than 60 worms were inspected by microscopy. Bar, 20 μm. Significance was determined using two-sample t tests: **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.