title: Intra-species growth-inhibition by Clostridium perfringens is a possible virulence trait in necrotic enteritis in broilers.
abstract: Necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens is associated with Clostridium perfringens type A, carrying the NetB toxin. C. perfringens type A is also a member of the normal intestinal microbiota of broilers. Clinically healthy chickens carry several different C. perfringens clones in their intestine. In flocks suffering from necrotic enteritis, however, mostly only one single clone is isolated from the gut of all the diseased animals. Selective proliferation of these clinical outbreak strains in the gut and spread within the flock seems likely, but an explanation has not yet been given. The hypothesis that necrotic enteritis associated C. perfringens strains might suppress the growth of normal microbiota C. perfringens strains, was therefore tested. Twenty-six C. perfringens strains isolated from healthy broilers and 24 clinical outbreak isolates were evaluated for their ability to induce intra-species growth-inhibition in an in vitro setup. A significantly higher proportion of the C. perfringens clinical outbreak strains inhibited the growth of other C. perfringens strains compared to C. perfringens strains isolated from the gut of healthy chickens. It is proposed that, in addition to toxin production, intra-species growth-inhibition may be a virulence trait that contributes to the ability of certain C. perfringens strains to cause necrotic enteritis in broilers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Research Group Veterinary Public Health and Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium. leen.timbermont@ugent.be
authors.forename: Leen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Timbermont
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanckriet
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasmans
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haesebrouck
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ducatelle
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Immerseel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004751:Enteritis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence