Extended Data Figure 3. F17-like pili are not required for UTI in mice.

C3H/HeN mice received a transurethral inoculation of UTI89 (WT) and UTI89Δucl, concurrently (a, b), or individually (c–e). (a) UTI89Δucl and WT strains persist at similar levels in the urine over 28 d in competitive infections. (b) The two strains are also present at equal levels in the bladder and kidney at the time of sacrifice (28 days post infection). (c) Single infection with the WT strain (black circles) or the F17-like mutant strain (white circles) produces similar levels of bacteruria over 28 days. (d) Single strain infection also produces similar levels of viable cells in homogenates of whole bladder or kidneys harvested at the time of sacrifice (28 days post infection). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of mice that resolved bacteriuria while maintaining bladder-associated CFUs after transurethral infection with either WT or UTI89Δucl (highlighted in red in d), suggesting that both strains are capable of forming similar numbers of QIRs. (e) Mice infected transurethrally with WT or Δucl strains of UTI89 exhibit a similar number of intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) at 6 hours in the bladder, indicating that loss of the ucl operon does not alter UTI89’s ability to form IBCs. CI= competitive index. Bars represent mean ± SEM (a,b), geometric mean (c,d) or median (e). No significant difference was detected between any samples by Wilcoxon Signed Ranked test (a,b) or Mann Whitney U test (c–e). n=10 mice, 2 biological replicates (a–b, e). n=16 mice, 3 biological replicates (c, d).