Fig. 2: Deletion of motV increased V. cholerae SI colonization, especially in the proximal SI and within the crypts.

CD1 pups were intragastrically inoculated with ~3 × 10⁶ CFU of the indicated V. cholerae strains, and 18-hours later the whole intestine (A) or the indicated SI segments (B) were plated on selective media to determine V. cholerae colony-forming units (CFU). C CD1 pups were infected with ~2 × 10⁶ CFU of a ~ 1:1 ratio of lacZ⁺ to lacZ^- V. cholerae, and the competitive index was calculated as the ratio of lacZ⁺ to lacZ^- CFU in the indicated SI segment 18-hours after inoculation divided by the ratio of lacZ⁺ to lacZ^- CFU in the inoculum. A n = 30 pups (3 litters) randomized between strains. B n = 10 pups (1 litter) per strain. C n = 9 pups (1 litter) split 4 WT/WT and 5 ∆motV/WT. A, C Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison correction. B Two-sided Mann-Whitney test. A–C Geometric mean and standard deviation. D Images of 10 µm cryosections of the indicated SI sections 18-hours after inoculation with ~2 ×10⁶ CFU of a ~ 1:1 ratio of WT lacZ::tdTomato V. cholerae (red) and ∆motV lacZ::eGFP V. cholerae (green). Sections were stained with AF405-conjugated phalloidin (blue) and imaged on a spinning disk confocal microscope. Arrowheads show V. cholerae microcolonies. E Quantification of the ratio of ∆motV:WT V. cholerae cells at the top(s) of the villi and in the crypts of the SI. When WT was not detected (ND), the ratio was given a value of 35 as an upper limit. V. cholerae were differentiated from background fluorescence by comma/rod morphology. 50–60 fields per site, imaged from the SIs of 4 mice. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.