b Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) are foodborne pathogens, and outbreaks are often associated with poultry products. Chickens are typically asymptomatic when colonized by these serovars; however, the factors contributing to this observation are uncharacterized. Whereas symptomatic mammals have a body temperature between 37°C and 39°C, chickens have a body temperature of 41°C to 42°C. Here, in vivo experiments using chicks demonstrated that numbers of viable S. Typhimurium or S. Enteritidis bacteria within the liver and spleen organ sites were >4 orders of magnitude lower than those within the ceca. When similar doses of S. Typhimurium or S. Enteritidis were given to C3H/HeN mice, the ratio of the intestinal concentration to the liver/spleen concentration was 1:1. In the avian host, this suggested poor survival within these tissues or a reduced capacity to traverse the host epithelial layer and reach liver/spleen sites or both. Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) promotes localization to liver/spleen tissues through invasion of the epithelial cell layer. Following in vitro growth at 42°C, SPI-1 genes sipC, invF, and hilA and the SPI-1 rtsA activator were downregulated compared to expression at 37°C. Overexpression of the hilA activators fur, fliZ, and hilD was capable of inducing hilA-lacZ at 37°C but not at 42°C despite the presence of similar levels of protein at the two temperatures. In contrast, overexpression of either hilC or rtsA was capable of inducing hilA and sipC at 42°C. These data indicate that physiological parameters of the poultry host, such as body temperature, have a role in modulating expression of virulence. Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) and Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) are major causes of foodborne diseases worldwide. In the United States, S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis accounted for the majority of confirmed cases of Salmonella outbreaks between 1970 and 2011 (1). These two are nontyphoid Salmonella (NTS) serovars that are capable of causing disease signs in a variety of animals, which contrasts with typhoid fever serovars that exclusively infect humans. Numerous food products have been associated with Salmonella outbreaks and illnesses in humans; however, poultry products are frequently implicated in outbreaks associated with NTS (www.cdc.gov /Salmonella/outbreaks.html). In 2010, a major poultry-related outbreak occurred that involved S. Enteritidis infections across 11 states and resulted in the recall of 380 million eggs (2).S. Typhimurium invades the host epithelial cell layer and migrates to liver and spleen tissue sites through the action of a type 3 secretion system (T3SS), encoded by Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1). SPI-1 is a DNA segment that is approximately 40 kb in size and encodes the structural components of the secretion system, secreted and chaperone proteins, and transcription factors that activate expression of the SPI-1 genes (3-5). Three regulators that are carried wi...

Here, we present the genome sequence of Lactobacillus animalis strain P38 and Lactobacillus reuteri strain P43, both isolated from the cecum content of a 4-week old chicken fed a diet supplemented with the prebiotic β(1-4)galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS). These indigenous Lactobacillus isolates are potential probiotic organisms for poultry.

Lactic acid bacteria are important members of the gut microbiota of humans and animals. Here, we present the genome sequence of Lactobacillus crispatus strain C25, originally isolated from the cecum of 4-week-old chicken fed a standard diet. This isolate represents a potential probiotic strain for poultry.