Figure 2.

Viable cell counts and total cell numbers of R. eutropha H16 during incubation in PBS. Cells were grown in NB medium for 5.5 h, harvested by centrifugation and then suspended in PBS and incubated at 30°C (red line) or at 5°C (blue line). At indicated points of time viable cell counts [cfu ml⁻¹] were determined as described in ‘Materials and methods’. Error bars indicate standard deviation. In (A), the time scale of the first 24 h is enlarged relative to the time scale of 20 days in (B). Solid lines refer to the wild type and dotted lines represent the PHB-negative ΔphaC mutant. In (C), the total cell numbers [cells ml⁻¹] are given. The same log scale of 5 decades as for (A) and (B) is given in (C) for better comparability.