The spirochetemic levels of the Vmp⁻ mutant are significantly less than wild-type and Vmp⁺R strains.

<p>Each data point represents the number of spirochetes per ml of blood for an individual mouse during the first initial peak in needle-inoculated RML mice (n = 7 for Wild-type and Vmp⁺R, n = 5 for Vmp⁻) (<b>A</b>). First spirochetemic peak densities in RML mice infected by tick bite (10 ticks/mouse; n = 4 for Wild-type and Vmp⁺R, n = 3 for the Vmp⁻) (<b>B</b>). These data were taken from the first peaks shown in <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004056#ppat-1004056-g003" target="_blank">Fig. 3</a> & <a href="http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004056#ppat-1004056-g005" target="_blank">5</a>. The spirochetemic levels of Vmp⁻ mutant were significantly less than the levels of wild-type and Vmp⁺R strains (*** <i>P</i> < 0.0001). Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA with the Tukey’s Multiple Comparison Test.