A chicken embryo lethality assay for pathogenic Enterococcus cecorum.

Pathogenic strains of Enterococcus cecorum cause outbreaks of arthritis and osteomyelitis in chickens worldwide. Enterococcal spondylitis (ES) is a specific manifestation of E. cecorum-associated disease of broilers and broiler breeders characterized by increased flock mortality, resulting from unresolved infection of the free thoracic vertebra by pathogenic E. cecorum. A study of 22 ES outbreaks in the southeast United States revealed that pathogenic E. cecorum strains isolated from spinal lesions were genetically clonal. Here, we compare the virulence of previously genotyped pathogenic strains (n = 8) isolated from spinal lesions and nonpathogenic strains (n = 9) isolated from ceca of unaffected birds in a chicken embryo lethality model. Strains were inoculated into the allantoic cavity of 12-day-old broiler and specific-pathogen-free (SPF) layer embryos; embryo survival was determined by candling eggs daily for 4 days. Significantly decreased survival occurred in both broiler and SPF embryos inoculated with pathogenic genotype strains compared with embryos inoculated with nonpathogenic genotype strains (broiler embryos, 23% vs. 60%; SPF embryos, 9% vs. 61%). Embryos infected with pathogenic strains were unable to control infection and consistently showed gross changes typical of sepsis, including hemorrhage and edema. After 48 hr, similar changes were not observed in embryos infected with nonpathogenic strains. This embryo lethality assay provides a useful tool for understanding the genetic basis of E. cecorum virulence.