FIG 5.

Dim cell proportion and time-kill curves upon l-cysteine addition to nutrient-starved M. smegmatis. (a) Proportion of dim cells in MSM-mEos2 cultures grown in nutrient-starved conditions with or without the addition of 4 mM l-cysteine. Dim cell proportions (log 10) under each condition were calculated with respect to MSM-mEos2 cultures grown in naive conditions. Error bars were calculated by measuring standard deviations in dim cell proportions between 10 PerSort replicates. (b and c) Time-kill curves of MSM cultures grown in nutrient-starved conditions with 4 mM l-cysteine and treated with 5× MIC INH (b) or 5× MIC RIF (c). Time-kill curve data for nutrient-rich and nutrient-starved conditions (no l-cysteine) are from Fig. 1. Data points are averaged from three independent experiments, and error bars represent the standard deviations between replicates. The limit of quantification for reporting growth was 10³ CFU/ml. Mean CFU/ml at 72 h between l-cysteine-treated and untreated cultures in nutrient-starved conditions were compared with Student's t test. LOD, log difference; W.R.T, with respect to.