Fig. 3

Survival in and adherence to A549 cells of B. cenocepacia strains. a Growth of WT AU1054 versus mutant strains AU1054∆lipA and AU1054∆copR cultured in LB. The optical density at OD₆₀₀ was measured hourly over 14 h. b Intracellular survival of WT AU1054 and derivative mutant strains in A549 cells. Bacterial infections were performed with MOI of 10, and bacterial survival was represented as recovery rate of CFUs at 24 h relative to that at 2 h. c Bacterial adherence assays with different AU1054 strains in A549 cells. Bacterial infections were performed with an MOI of 50. Adherence values were calculated by determining the percentages of bacterial CFUs after adhesion relative to that of original CFUs added for infection (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001; ns: no significant difference)