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. Issue 2 (17th April 2013) - Coward, Chris
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.