Figure 6
Multiplex analysis of mouse infected tissues using molecular beacons indicate that bgp -defective mutant, NP1.3, is less efficient in tissue colonization than the wild-type N40 strain. Number of B. burgdorferi strain N40 (filled diamonds) or NP1.3 (open diamonds) present in different tissues at two weeks of infection of C3H/HeN mice were determined by qPCR using molecular beacons. The spirochete load was normalized to 105 nidogen copies. After determination of the Ct values for recA of B. burgdorferi and mouse nidogen in the PCR assays, the standard curve (Figure 2B) was used to determine the number of spirochetes per 105 nidogen copies (~6 × 104 cells) of the infected mouse tissues.