(A, B, C) WT, DC-Irf8-/-, and Irf8-/- mice were infected i.p. with 20 cysts of T. gondii. (A, B) Representative contour plots, average frequencies, and absolute number of (A) Lin-CD11c+MHCII+ and (B) Lin-CD11c+MHCII+IRF8+ DCs in the PECs were analyzed on day 5 following infection. (C) WT, DC-Irf8-/-, and Irf8-/- mice were i.p. infected with T. gondii and pathogen burden was assessed from PECs and spleen of mice following infection by qPCR on day 5 post-infection. (D) Survival of WT (●), Tbx21-/- (▲), and DC-Irf8-/- (■) mice infected i.p. with 20 cysts of T. gondii. Results are representative of four independent experiments involving at least 3 mice per group. Statistical analyses were done using (D) Log-rank (Mantel Cox) test or (A-C) one-way Anova with Tukey’s multiple comparison test, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001. Error bars, standard error mean.