title: Signature-tagged mutagenesis of Pasteurella multocida identifies mutants displaying differential virulence characteristics in mice and chickens.
abstract: Pasteurella multocida is the causative agent of fowl cholera in birds. Signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) was used to identify potential virulence factors in a mouse septicemia disease model and a chicken fowl cholera model. A library of P. multocida mutants was constructed with a modified Tn916 and screened for attenuation in both animal models. Mutants identified by the STM screening were confirmed as attenuated by competitive growth assays in both chickens and mice. Of the 15 mutants identified in the chicken model, only 5 were also attenuated in mice, showing for the first time the presence of host-specific virulence factors and indicating the importance of screening for attenuation in the natural host.
authors.affiliation: Bacterial Pathogenesis Research Group, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harper
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Boyce
authors.forename: Ian W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Wilkie
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional / Q000379:methods; D010326:Pasteurella Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016979:Pasteurella multocida / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016324:Sequence Tagged Sites; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008565:Membrane Proteins