G.mellonella virulence assay.

(A) Pathogenicity of Newman pEmpty, Newman ΔsecDF pEmpty and Newman ΔsecDF pSecDF in G. mellonella. Larvae were monitored every 24 hours. PBS was used as negative control. Three independent experiments were pooled and plotted as Kaplan-Meier survival curve, P<0.001. (B) Bacterial burden per (live) larvae was measured in triplicates 24, 48 and 72 h post infection (hpi). The symbols triangle, square, diamond and line correspond to replicates I, II, III and the average, Ø, respectively. The inoculum (CFU/larvae) is shown at time point zero.