Cultivable bacteria in P. atrosepticum macerated potato tissue
First, we examined the dynamics of cultivable bacteria in macerated potato tissue. Bacterial CFU counts of macerated potato tuber tissue started to rise quickly (Fig. 2). In both experiments, the CFU/g reached 108–1010 by the eighth day post-infection (Fig. 2A). Although the mass of macerated tissue was similar in the two experiments, fluctuations in the CFU/g for individual potatoes were significantly higher in the first. The CFU/g in uninfected potatoes ranged from 2 × 104–105 in both experiments.