Fig. 5

Experiment design. A five-antibiotic cocktail consisting of kanamycin (0.4 mg ml⁻¹), gentamicin (0.035 mg ml⁻¹), colistin (850 U ml⁻¹), metronidazole (0.215 mg ml⁻¹), and vancomycin (0.045 mg ml⁻¹)) was administered ad libitum in drinking water for 3, 4, or 5 days. Antibiotic water was changed to sterile antibiotic free water and 24 h later mice were administered an intra-peritoneal injection of clindamycin (10 mg kg⁻¹). Twenty-four hours post clindamycin IP, mice are challenged with C. difficile spores by oral gavage and monitored for signs of disease. Recurrent CDI is induced by administration of a further clindamycin injection (10 mg kg⁻¹)