title: Mycoplasma gallisepticum: Influence of cell invasiveness on the outcome of experimental infection in chickens.
abstract: Recently we have shown that a low (R(low)) and a high laboratory passage (R(high)) of the poultry pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum prototype strain R differ markedly in their capability to invade non-phagocytic eukaryotic cells. In the present study the infection traits of these two mycoplasma passages were compared in an in vivo setting. After aerosol inoculation of chickens, M. gallisepticum was re-isolated from the inner organs of birds infected with R(low), whereas no mycoplasma was recovered from the inner organs of birds infected with R(high). These results indicate that the two mycoplasma populations derived from strain R differ in their capacity to cross the mucosal barrier and suggest that cell invasion may play a major role in the observed systemic spreading of M. gallisepticum in its chicken host.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Bacteriology, Mycology and Hygiene, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Much
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Winner
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stipkovits
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosengarten
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Citti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D002645:Chickens / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence