FIG. 4.

Abilities of NZ9000 (A), NZ9000ΔAB (B), and NZ9000ΔABE (C) to survive a freeze after pretreatment at 10°C for several hours. Survival of freezing (number of viable cells prior to freezing is set at 100%) of L. lactis after preexposure to 10°C for 0 (open squares), 2 (closed squares), and 4 h (open circles) is shown. The data are shown as an average from two independent experiments, and the error bars indicate the variation for each sample point.