FIG 7.

Competitive advantage of the WT strain when challenged against the ΔrsbX mutant strain at both 30°C and 42°C. Competition experiments with mixed cultures of the WT and ΔrsbX mutant strains were performed at 42°C and 30°C, and the data are shown as relative abundances in percentages of CFU per milliliter. (A to C) Cultures of the WT and ΔrsbX strains incubated at 42°C were mixed at ratios of 1,000:1 (A), 1:1 (B), and 1:1,000 (C). (D to E) Cultures at the same ratios were mixed and incubated at 30°C. Passages were made every 24 h for 5 days. Statistical analysis was performed using a paired Student t test (*, P value of <0.05; **, P value of <0.01; ***, P value of <0.001).