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. 2019 May 9;13(5):e0007401. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007401

Fig 1. Expression of the two allelic variants of Tp0136 on B. burgdorferi strain B314 surface.

Fig 1

Treatment of B314 strain expressing Tp0136 alleles from T. pallidum SS14 and Nichols strains with antiserum obtained from a secondary syphilis (SS) patient followed by visualization using AlexaFluor-488 conjugated anti-human IgG antibodies showed punctate green spirochetes surface staining (panels b and c in the 2nd row). The SS serum did not react with other targets on the B. burgdorferi B314 control strain transformed with an empty shuttle vector (V) in the panel a in the 2nd row. DNA staining by DAPI in the panels in rows 1, 3, and 5 show all bacteria present in the respective microscopic fields. A monoclonal antibody against FlaB followed by TRITC-labeled secondary anti-mouse antibodies stained spirochetes only after permeabilization with methanol (Permeabilized, panels a, b, and c in the 6th row) but not intact spirochetes (Unpermeabilized, panels a, b, and c in the 4th row) showing that bacterial outer membrane remained unperturbed during the IFA procedure. Bar represents 16 μm.