Journal Article

Whole genome sequence comparison of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli from acute and chronic salpingitis of egg laying hens

Djordjevic, Steven Philip, Poulsen, Louise Ladefoged, Bisgaard, Magne, Jørgensen, Steffen Lynge, Cummins, Max Laurence, Christensen, Jens Peter, Christensen, Henrik, Thøfner, Ida, Kudirkiene, Egle

2020

Overview

Background Infection in the oviduct (salpingitis) is the most common bacterial infection in egg laying hens and is mainly caused by Escherichia coli . The disease is responsible for decreased animal welfare, considerable economic loss as well as a risk of horizontal and vertical transmission of pathogenic E. coli . The outcome of salpingitis may be either acute or chronic. It has not yet been clarified whether the pathological manifestation is a result of the characteristics of the E. coli or whether the manifestation is associated with host factors such as host immunity. Results From the core- and accessory genome analysis and comparison of 62 E. coli no genetic markers were found to be associated to either acute or chronic infection. Twenty of the 62 genomes harboured at least one antimicrobial resistance gene with resistance against sulfonamides being the most common. The increased serum survival and iron chelating genes iss and iroN were highly prevalent in genomes from both acute and chronic salpingitis. Conclusion Our analysis revealed that no genetic markers could differentiate the E. coli isolated from acute versus chronic salpingitis in egg laying hens. The difference in pathological outcome may be related to other factors such as immunological status, genetics and health of the host. These data indicate that salpingitis is another manifestation of colibacillosis.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Acute / Animal welfare / Animals / antibiotic resistance genes / Antibiotics / Antimicrobial agents / Antimicrobial resistance / APEC / Bacterial infections / Bacteriology / blood serum / Chickens / Chronic / Chronic infection / Colibacillosis / Comparative analysis / Disease / Drug resistance / Drug Resistance, Bacterial - genetics / E coli / Egg laying / Eggs (Food) / Epidemics / Escherichia coli / Escherichia coli - genetics / Escherichia coli Infections - microbiology / Escherichia coli Infections - pathology / Escherichia coli Infections - veterinary / Female / financial economics / Genes / Genetic analysis / Genetic aspects / Genetic markers / Genetic research / Genome, Bacterial / Genomes / Genomics / Health aspects / immunity / Infection / Infections / Iron / laying hens / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Microbial drug resistance / Nucleotide sequence / Oviduct / oviducts / oviposition / Pathogens / Peritonitis / Poultry / Poultry Diseases - microbiology / Poultry Diseases - pathology / Research Article / risk / Salpingitis / Salpingitis - microbiology / Salpingitis - pathology / Salpingitis - veterinary / Sepsis / sequence analysis / Sulfonamides / Transgenics / veterinary medicine / Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science / Virulence / Whole Genome Sequencing / Zoology