Fig. 4From: Aspartyl protease in the secretome of honey bee trypanosomatid parasite contributes to infection of beesGrowth and rosette formation of LpAsp and LpCht mutants, as well as their infection in honey bees. a Growth rates of WT (circle) and homozygous (-/-) mutant strains for LpAsp (triangle denotes clone A9; square denotes clone B6), and LpCht (reversed triangle denotes clone D11; diamond denotes clone E6) in modified FP-FB medium were monitored at 28 °C over 4 days (n = 3). Symbols represent mean values ± standard deviation (SD) (error bars). b Microscopic images of parasites in the medium captured 5 days after culture initiation, showing rosettes of various sizes. c Count of rosettes within three different areas with the individual parasites (n = 3). Symbols represent mean values ± SD (error bars); statistical analysis was performed using the Dunnet test (one-tailed). Asterisks indicate statistical significance at *** P < 1.9E−06. d, e The relative abundance of L. passim in individual honey bees (n = 24) at 14 days post-infection was compared between WT and homozygous mutants (-/-) of LpAsp (d; clones A9 and B6) or LpCht (e; clones D11 and E6). One sample infected by the WT parasite was set at the reference value of 1, and symbols represent the median with 95% confidence interval. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by the Steel test. LpAsp, L. passim aspartyl protease; LpCht, L. passim chitinase; ns, not significant; WT, wild typeBack to article page