Fig 6. The Tat system contributes to P. mirabilis fitness during bacteremia.

CBA/J mice were inoculated via the tail vein with 1x10⁷ CFU of a 1:1 mixture of wild-type P. mirabilis and an isogenic mutant. Liver and spleen were harvested from mice 24 hours post-inoculation, homogenized, and plated on LB agar and LB agar with kanamycin. A competitive index (CI) was calculated for each mutant on a per-mouse basis for the liver (square) and spleen (circle) as described above. Data for the tatC mutant are provided from Fig 5 for comparison. Each data point represents the Log10 CI from an individual mouse. Solid lines represent the median. Dashed lines indicate a competitive index of 1, or a 1:1 ratio of mutant to wild-type. * P < 0.05 and ** P < 0.01 as determined by Wilcoxon signed rank test.