FIG 5.

Eiger mutant Drosophila flies display tolerance for C. burnetii. (A to C) Adult w¹¹¹⁸ and Eiger mutant (egr^1/3) male flies, 4 days of age, were mock infected or infected with C. burnetii (100 GE/fly). (A) Mortality was significantly increased (P < 0.01) in w¹¹¹⁸ flies compared to Eiger mutant flies. (B) Coxiella GE was quantified at 6 and 20 days postinfection by qPCR. (C) Levels of Drosocin were measured in Eiger mutant flies and control w¹¹¹⁸ flies at 12 days postinfection. (D to F) Four-day-old sibling adult flies carrying a UAS-induced dsRNA cassette targeting Eiger (TRiP.HMC03963) with an Actin5C-driven GAL4 element (GAL4 > UAS-egr RNAi) or lacking the GAL4 element (+ > UAS-egr RNAi) were infected with C. burnetii (100 GE/fly). (D) Percent survival was evaluated for a period of 30 days. (E) Bacterial loads were determined at 6, 20, and 30 days postinfection by qPCR. (F) Expression of Drosocin was determined at 12 days postinfection. The asterisks denote statistical significance (*, P < 0.05). The error bars indicate standard deviations.