FIG 7.

Role of each Tat substrate in B. melitensis virulence in a murine model. Six-week-old BALB/c mice were challenged intraperitoneally with wild-type B. melitensis M28 or each Tat substrate mutant. Splenic bacterial burden (A) and spleen weights (B) were measured at 1 and 4 weeks postinfection. The short lines amid data points in the graph represent the mean (n = 5 mice per bacterial strain per time point); colors of the short line indicate the functional group (see main text for detail): purple, ABC transporter solute-binding proteins; blue, oxidoreductases; red, cell envelope biogenesis enzymes; and black, others. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test. *, P < 0.05.