FIG 3.
Virulence level of different bacterial strains as depicted in a wax worm (Galleria mellonella) larva infection model. (a and b) Survival of wax worm (n = 10) infected by 1 × 106 CFU/ml (a) and 1 × 105 CFU/ml (b) of each K. pneumoniae strain at 48 h. The test strains included K. pneumoniae strain 16HN-263, ST11 CR-HvKP strain CR-HvKP4 (hypervirulence control), ST23 K1 strain HvKP1088 (hypervirulent K. pneumoniae control), and the classic CRKP strain FJ8 (low-virulence control). A log rank (Mantel-Cox) test was performed for the indicated curves. A significant difference (P = 0.0027 [a] and P = 0.0494 [b]) was observed between 16HN-263 and FJ8, while no significant difference was observed between 16HN-263 and CR-HvKP4 or HvKP1088 (P > 0.9999 and P = 0.5417 between 16HN-263 and CR-HvKP4 in panels a and b, respectively; P = 0.3173 and P = 0.5417 between 16HN-263 and HvKP1088 in panels a and b, respectively).