Fig. 3

Plasmid maintenance after a week of growth in media without antibiotics. The engineered strain HS996-infA showed complete plasmid maintenance after growth in LB-media without antibiotic supplementation, as shown by the colony colour and growth on the LB-Cm plate. All isolated HS996 colonies were found to have lost the same plasmid after a week of growth in non-selective conditions, as shown by the lack of pigment and susceptibility to Cm