Fig 7. B. dolosa virulence is independent of the presence of flagella.

(A) B. dolosa strain AU0158 and its fliC deletion mutant were plated on low-density (0.3%) LB agar and swimming distance was measured after incubation for 48 hours. *P<0.05 by 1-way NOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Bars represent mean measurements of 3–4 replicates and error bars represent one standard deviation (representative of three independent experiments). (B) Overnight cultures of B. dolosa strain AU0158, the fixLJ deletion mutant, or the fliC deletion mutant were diluted 1:100 in TSB with 1% glucose, incubated for 48 hours, and then assessed for biofilm formation using crystal violet. Bars represent mean measurements of 6 replicates and error bars represent one standard deviation of the data (representative of three independent experiments). (C-D) C57BL/6 mice were intranasally challenged with 4.8 x10⁸ CFU/mouse of strain AU0158 or its fliC deletion mutant. Bacterial loads were measured 7 days after infection in the lungs (C) and spleen (D). Data are derived from one experiment done with 7–8 mice per group. Each point represents one mouse and bars represent medians.