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. 2022 Jun 13;16(6):e0010485. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010485

Fig 5. The 500 bp C-terminal of TE is essential for survival in macrophages.

Fig 5

(A) The wild-type and Δpks1-TE-C500 strain were co-cultured with RAW264.7 macrophages for 24 and 48 h. In comparison with the wild-type strain, the conidia of the Δpks1-TE-C500 were more sensitive to cytotoxic activity and were more easily killed and cleared by macrophages. The wild-type hyphae penetrated the cells in 48 h. (B) TEM analysis after 24 h of co-culture. The wild-type and complemented strain maintained the integrity of the cell wall of the conidia after 24 h in cytoplasm, and macrophage mitochondria were swollen (black arrow). In contrast, the conidia of the Δpks1-TE-C500 were deformed in phagosome, and the mitochondria were normal (white arrow). (C) Conidial survival was detected by counting CFU on PDA after the infected macrophages lyses. The number of surviving colonies of the Δpks1-TE-C500 strain was much lower than that of the wild-type strain. The statistical analysis was performed using two-tailed t-test (**, P<0.01).