FIG 2.

Growth and desiccation tolerance of a ΔcsrA mutant. (A) Comparison of growth of wild type (WT) and a ΔcsrA mutant on TY and M9-succinate agar and of morphologies of cells grown in TY and M9-succinate broth. (B) Desiccation tolerance of WT, ΔcsrA mutant, ΔcsrA mutant with empty vector, and ΔcsrA mutant expressing csrA in trans (pAB2750) at day 0 and at day 6 of desiccation at 2% RH or at 6 days in PBS. The cell number represents the total number of viable cells recovered from each membrane. The data are the average of three biological replicates, and standard deviations are shown as error bars. Statistical significance was calculated using a t test as follows: ns ,  not significant; **, P < 0.005. The detection limit is 200 cells.