A hemagglutination (HA)-typing system has been developed for the presumptive identification of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) possessing the colonization factor antigens (CFA) CFA/I or CFA/II. E. coli isolates are grown on CFA agar and tested for mannose-sensitive (MS) or mannose-resistant (MR) HA of human, bovine, chicken, and guinea pig erythrocytes. CFA/I-positive ETEC exhibit MRHA ...

Assuming that the various phage types of Salmonella Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) are largely equally virulent, the importance of certain foods as sources of infection for human salmonellosis can be deduced from differences in the distribution of phage types in human and non-human samples. In 2002, S. Enteritidis phage type 29 (PT29) was first isolated from non-human test samples in Austria. S. ...

Opsin family genes encode G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane proteins that bind a retinaldehyde chromophore in photoreception. Here, we sought potential as yet undescribed avian retinal photoreceptors, focusing on Opsin 3 homologs in the chicken. We found two Opsin 3-related genes in the chicken genome: one corresponding to encephalopsin/panopsin (Opn3) in mammals, and the other belonging to...

The chicken upper respiratory tract is the portal of entry for respiratory pathogens, such as avian influenza virus (AIV). The presence of microorganisms is sensed by pathogen recognition receptors (such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs)) of the innate immune defenses. Innate responses are essential for subsequent induction of potent adaptive immune responses, but little information is available ab...

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) is a crucial regulator that suppresses c-Jun N-terminal kinase and non-canonical nuclear factor-kB signaling, but facilitates type I interferon production. To determine TRAF3 function in innate immune responses among birds, particularly chicken, we cloned and characterized the chicken TRAF3 gene (chTRAF3) and detected its tissue express...

We examined the utility of infecting chicken embryos as a means of evaluating the virulence of different Francisella sp. strains and mutants. Infection of 7-day-old chicken embryos with a low dose of F. novicida or F. tularensis subsp. holarctica live vaccine strain (LVS) resulted in sustained growth for 6 days. Different doses of these two organisms were used to inoculate chicken embryos to de...

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) infection of chickens is a major contributing factor to non-typhoidal salmonellosis. The roles of the type-three secretion systems (T3SS-1 and T3SS-2) in the pathogenesis of SE infection of chickens are poorly understood. In this study, the functions of T3SS-1 and T3SS-2 during SE infection of primary chicken oviduct epithelial cells (COEC) and macro...

The dielectric properties, consisting of the dielectric constant (epsilon') and loss factor (epsilon''), were measured with an open-ended coaxial-line probe and impedance analyzer for uncooked broiler breast muscle pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, deboned at 2- and 24-h postmortem, over the frequency range from 10 to 1,800 MHz at temperatures ranging from 5 to 85 degrees C. The dielectric...

Highly pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI) is a notifiable viral disease caused by avian influenza type A viruses of the Orthomyxoviridae family. Type A influenza genome consists of eight segments of negative-sense RNA. RNA segment 2 encodes three proteins, PB1, PB1-F2, and N40, which are translated from the same mRNA by ribosomal leaky scanning and reinitiation. Since these proteins are critical...

We have used two methods to detect specific transcription of the chicken alpha 2 (type I) collagen gene in cell-free extracts derived from Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts. The first method is a modification of the S1 nuclease mapping procedure which utilizes a DNA probe labeled with 32P at the 5' end of the HindIII linker originally used to clone the collagen promoter ...