Fig. 3
The virulence of the RHΔku80ΔompdcΔuprt mutant was severely attenuated in mice. a Tachyzoites of RHΔku80ΔompdcΔuprt or RHΔku80 tachyzoites were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) into BALB/c mice (n = 5) and monitored for more than 30 d. b Tachyzoites of RHΔku80ΔompdcΔuprt or RHΔku80 tachyzoites were injected i.p. into BALB/c-nu mice (n = 5) and monitored for more than 30 d. c The parasite numbers in ascitic fluid of BALB/C mice infected with the 1 × 106 RHΔku80ΔompdcΔuprt strain and RHΔku80 strain from 1 to 5 days. d–e The parasite burden of liver and lung tissues infected with the RHΔku80ΔompdcΔuprt strain and RHΔku80 strain for 4 days. f Tissue damage in the spleen, liver and lung of naïve mice inoculated with the RHΔku80 strain and defective strain respectively. The 529 bp gene was detected by qPCR to demonstrate the number of T. gondii tachyzoites in each sample. ***P < 0.001 by Student’s t test and log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test. i.p. intraperitoneally, T. gondii Toxoplasma gondii, qPCR quantitative polymerase chain reaction