FIG 5.

Comparison of growth and levels of vegetative cell survival by F4969, its isogenic nanI null mutant, and a complemented strain cocultured in PBS with HT29 or MTX-E12 cell lines. (A) F4969, the nanI null mutant, and a complemented strain were grown to 24 h at 37°C in PBS buffer with the presence of HT29 or MTX-E12 cells. At designated time points, the OD₆₀₀ of each culture was determined. (B) Quantification of viable vegetative cells of F4969, its nanI null mutant, and a complemented strain when grown in PBS with HT29 or MTX-E12 cells. After the bacteria were cocultured with the host cells for 24 h at 37°C, those cultures were then plated onto BHI agar plates with 10-fold serial dilutions using PBS buffer. These BHI agar cultures were grown anaerobically overnight at 37°C for colony counting (log₁₀ scale). Shown are the mean values from three independent experiments. Error bars indicate the SD. Blue asterisks indicate a P value of <0.05 relative to wild type in PBS cultured with the HT29 cell line. Orange asterisks represent a P value of <0.05 relative to wild type in PBS cultured with MTX-E12 cell line.