title: O-antigen repeat number in Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is important for egg contamination, colonisation of the chicken reproductive tract and survival in egg albumen.
abstract: Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a major cause of human gastrointestinal disease, infection being due in large part to consumption of contaminated eggs. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Salmonella is known to play a role in colonisation of the host and survival in hostile conditions including egg albumen. We investigated the contribution of LPS O-antigen length to colonisation of the reproductive tract of laying hens, contamination of eggs and survival in albumen. We show that expression of very-long O-antigen is essential for contamination of eggs, probably as a consequence of enhanced reproductive tract colonisation and survival in the forming egg.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK. cc122@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coward
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sait
authors.forename: Tristan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cogan
authors.forename: Tom J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Humphrey
authors.forename: Duncan J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Maskell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D003165:Complement System Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D004531:Eggs / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D019081:O Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000502:physiology*; D014566:Urogenital System / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D019081:O Antigens; D003165:Complement System Proteins