Bacterial persisters in long-term infection: Emergence and fitness in a complex host environment
Fig 5
Fitness comparison of Lop and Hip isolates in biofilm conditions.
(A) A representative Lop and Hip isolate with similar characteristics (Lop: cip MIC 1.0 μg/ml; growth rate 0.62 hr-1; time since first detection 4.28 years. Hip: cip MIC 0.75 μg/ml; growth rate 0.57 hr-1; time since first detection 5.49 years) were differentially tagged with CFP (Lop) or YFP (Hip). Tagged isolates were cocultured and allowed to form biofilms in a flow-cell model for 72 hours. Mixed biofilms were treated for 24 hours with ciprofloxacin (4 μg/ml). Propidium iodine (PI) was added to visualise dead cells (red). (B) Biomass was quantified for each population. Significant differences in biomass following treatment were determined using unpaired t-test (*** p <0.001).