Preferential Use of Central Metabolism In Vivo Reveals a Nutritional Basis for Polymicrobial Infection
Figure 3
In vivo role for the pentose phosphate pathway and the Entner-Doudoroff pathway for pathogen colonization of the urinary tract.
Competitive indices (CI) were determined following co-challenge infections of female CBA/J mice with a 1∶1 ratio of either wild-type (A) UPEC CFT073 or (B) P. mirabilis HI4320 and their respective mutants in the following genes: gnd, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase; talB, transaldolase; and edd, 6-phosphoglyconate dehydrase. The contribution of multiple transaldolase isoenzymes in E. coli were assessed using co-challenge infections with wild-type E. coli CFT073 and (C) talA or (D) talAtalB mutant strains. E. coli CFT073 was cultured from bladders and kidneys at 48 hpi. P. mirabilis HI4320 was cultured from organs at 7 dpi. Each dot represents bladder (closed symbols) and kidneys (open symbols) from an individual animal. Bars indicate the median CI. Significant differences in colonization (*P<0.05) were determined by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A CI<1 indicates a fitness defect.