In this experiment, mice received BrdU in drinking water for 2 to 4 week-periods at different times of the infection (i.e., 0–2, 2–4, 4–6, 6–8 and 8–12 weeks), and the resultant CD138+ PC (gated as shown in Supplementary Figure S5) at 12 weeks of infection were analysed to determine whether PC in the spleen and bone marrow retained BrdU from any of the labelling periods (Figure 3A–F). This evidence concerns the gene SDC1 and infection.