Identification of genes required for avian Escherichia coli septicemia by signature-tagged mutagenesis.

ABSTRACT: Infections with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) cause colibacillosis, an acute and largely systemic disease resulting in significant economic losses in poultry industry worldwide. Although various virulence-associated genes have been identified in APEC, their actual role in pathogenesis is still not fully understood, and, furthermore, certain steps of the infection process have not been related to previously identified factors. Here we describe the application of a signature-tagged transposon mutagenesis (STM) approach to identify critical genes required for APEC infections in vivo. Twenty pools of about 1,800 IMT5155 (O2:H5) mutants were screened in an infection model using 5-week-old chickens, and potentially attenuated mutants were subjected to a secondary screen and in vivo co

SUBMITTER: Li G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1087346 | biostudies-literature | 2005 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature