The effect of the removal of pSymA and/or pSymB on the growth of <i>S. meliloti</i>.

<p>The growth of <i>S. meliloti</i> was examined in M9 minimal medium (<b>A</b> – top panel), TY complex medium (<b>A</b> – bottom panel), or sterile bulk soil mesocosms (<b>C</b>). Data points represent averages from triplicate (<b>A</b>) or duplicate (<b>C</b>) samples. Error bars represent +/− one standard deviation from triplicate samples (<b>A</b>) or the range from duplicate samples (<b>C</b>). (<b>B</b>) Average generation times and standard deviations for each strain grown in M9 or TY media, calculated from a total of six replicates from two independent experiments. Blue – wild type; red – ΔpSymA; yellow –ΔpSymB; purple – ΔpSymAB.