BACKGROUND: @entity69128 (EC) @entity281 currently is one of the most important bacterial diseases of modern broiler @entity1573 but can also affect @entity4186 or other avian species. However, little is known concerning pathogenesis of EC and most studies concentrate on examinations of EC strains from broilers only. The objective of this study was to compare pathogenic and commensal EC strains from different animal species concerning different phenotypic and genotypic traits. RESULTS: Pathogenic and commensal EC strains were not clearly separated from each other in a phylogenetic tree based on partial sequences of the 16S-rRNA-gene and also based on the @entity844 profile determined with gas chromatography. C12:0, C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, C17:0, @entity40707 , C18:1 w7c, C18:1 w9c and C20:4 w6,9,12,15c were detected as the major @entity1718 . None of the 21 pathogenic EC strains was able to utilize @entity2656 , while 9 of 29 commensal strains were @entity2656 positive. In a dendrogram based on @entity215 data, pathogenic strains were not clearly separated from commensal isolates. However, significant differences concerning the prevalence of several mass peaks were confirmed between the two groups. Two different antisera were produced but none of the serotypes was predominantly found in the pathogenic or commensal EC isolates. Enterococcal virulence factors gelE, @entity69129 , asa1, ccf, hyl and efaAfs were only detected in single isolates via PCR. No virulence factor was found significantly more often in the pathogenic isolates. The @entity1573 @entity2085 of the examined EC isolates varied from 0 up to 100%. The mean @entity2085 in the pathogenic EC isolates was 39.7%, which was significantly higher than the lethality of the commensal strains, which was 18.9%. Additionally, five of the commensal isolates showed small colony variant growth, which was never reported for EC before. CONCLUSIONS: Pathogenic and commensal EC isolates from different animal species varied in @entity1573 @entity2085 , in their ability to metabolize @entity2656 and probably showed divergent mass peak patterns with @entity215 . These differences may be explained by a separate evolution of pathogenic EC isolates. Furthermore, different serotypes of EC were demonstrated for the first time.

Comparison of pathogenic and non-pathogenic XXXX strains from different animal species.

@entity4186 :: ('8839', 'Species') :: ['ducks'] @entity40707 :: ('CHEBI:28842', 'Chemical') :: ['C18:0'] @entity844 :: ('CHEBI:35366', 'Chemical') :: ['fatty acid'] @entity2656 :: ('MESH:D008353', 'Chemical') :: ['mannitol'] @entity2085 :: ('MESH:D020964', 'Disease') :: ['embryo lethality'] @entity69128 :: ('44008', 'Species') :: ['Enterococcus cecorum'] @entity215 :: ('MESH:D013771', 'Disease') :: ['MALDI-TOF MS'] @entity1573 :: ('9031', 'Species') :: ['chickens', 'chicken'] @entity281 :: ('MESH:D007239', 'Disease') :: ['infection'] @entity1718 :: ('MESH:D005227', 'Chemical') :: ['fatty acids'] @entity69129 :: ('100529765', 'Gene') :: ['esp']
@entity69128 :: (44008,Species) :: ['Enterococcus cecorum']
