Figure 5.

The ΔvirB B. melitensis strain multiplies differently depending on the tissue. Wild-type C57BL/6 mice were infected intraperitoneally (i.p.) (A), intranasally (i.n.) (B) or intradermally (i.d.) (C), with a dose of 10⁷ CFU of eFluor670 labeled mCherry-B. melitensis or with eFluor670 labeled mCherry-ΔvirB B. melitensis. Mice were sacrificed at the indicated times and the spleen, lung or footpad was harvested, fixed and analyzed by fluorescent microscopy. The data represent the percentage of eFluor670 negative bacteria among mCherry positive bacteria. Bars represent the standard deviation. Significant differences between the indicated groups are marked with asterisks: ^**p < 0.01, ^***p < 0.001. These results are representative of two independent experiments with 3 mice per condition. h, hours; n, number of bacteria analyzed in each condition.