Verification of the E. chaffeensis infection status by culture and for the transposon insertion sites in mCherry mutant infected deer blood#.

#First infection experiment.*Blood-derived buffy coats or DNAs from the first infection experiment were assessed for the presence of mutants by culture recovery and nested PCR, respectively. Culture positives refer the presence of organisms as inclusions in the DH82 cells as determined by cytospin and polychromatic stained slides. Blood recovered on days 5, 32, 35, 42, 46, 49 post-infection were also assessed and tested negative for the viable pathogen or predicted amplicons. The − and + signs refer to samples tested negative or positive.**Genomic insertion sites as defined in Figure 3.