Investigation of the role of five Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis genomic islands in colonisation of the chicken reproductive tract and other organs following oral challenge

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a major cause of human gastrointestinal disease, infection being due in large part to consumption of contaminated eggs. Recent genome sequencing of Salmonella enterica serovars has identified genomic islands the presence of which differs between serovars. Using defined mutants we have investigated the contribution that five such loci play in colonisation of the avian reproductive tract, other organs and avian macrophages. All loci appear to play a small role in infection of liver and spleen but not in colonisation of the reproductive tract or macrophages. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.