Figure 2.

The ankF::Tn mutant has no replication defect in axenic culture. (A) Scheme of the genomic region of wild-type C. burnetii and C. burnetii-ankF::Tn at the ankF locus. The transposable element is inserted between bp 507 and 508 of the ankF coding sequence and contains a GFP reporter under the control of the C. burnetii promotor P₃₁₁ and a chloramphenicol resistance cassette under the control of the C. burnetii promotor P₁₁₆₉. (B) Agarose gel of PCR products from wild-type C. burnetii and ankF::Tn generated with primers specific for the ankF coding sequence (shown as halved arrows in A). (C) Wild-type C. burnetii and ankF::Tn were inoculated at an OD₆₀₀ of 0.01 in ACCM-2 medium and incubated at 37°C, 2.5% O₂ and 5% CO₂. OD₆₀₀ was determined by spectrophotometric analysis at the indicated time-points post-inoculation. Error bars represent the mean standard deviation of three independent experiments.