FIG 7.

E. faecalis-derived soluble factors are sufficient to increase EHEC virulence gene expression. (A) A schematic of the transwell system. Gut commensals (top compartment) and EHEC (bottom compartment) are grown together while physically separated by a 0.4 μm pore polycarbonate membrane insert, which allows chemical communication between both bacterial populations. (B) Transcriptional levels of virulence genes were measured by targeted qRT-PCR. Error bars represent the means ± SD from two independent experiments (six biological replicates). Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Tukey test. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001; ns, not significant.