Figure 5

Suppression of necrosis increases resistance of worms to infection. Both vha-12(n2915) and unc-32(e189) are associated with a defect in vacuolar H⁺-ATPase activity and, consequently, reduced necrosis. Following infection with (a) E. carotovora and E. carotovora (b) E. carotovora, the differences between wild-type N2 and vha-12(n2915) or unc-32(e189) survival are highly significant (log-rank test, p value < 0.0001). Data shown are representative of three independent experiments. (c,d) Bacterial load in the intestines of wild-type and mutant C. elegans (indicated on the horizontal axes), after 24 h exposure to E. carotovora (c) and P. luminescens (d). The number of colony-forming units (CFU) per worm was measured and bars represent the standard errors from two independent experiments. (e) Life-span assays for the mutants vha-12(n2915) and unc-32(e189) and wild-type N2 on non-pathogenic OP50 E. coli. Differences between the three strains are not significant (log-rank test, p value > 0.05).