Detection of Salmonella spp, Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium in naturally infected broiler chickens by a multiplex PCR-based assay.

The presence of Salmonella in the intestinal tract, on the chickens skin and among their feathers, may cause carcasses contamination during slaughtering and processing and possibly it is responsible by the introduction of this microorganism in the slaughterhouses. A rapid method to identify and monitor Salmonella and their sorovars in farm is becoming necessary. A pre-enriched multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) assay employing specific primers was developed and used to detect Salmonella at the genus level and to identify the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in broiler chicken swab samples. The method was validated by testing DNA extract from 90 fresh culture cloacal swab samples from poultry chicken cultured in phosphate buffer peptone water at 37 °C for 18 h. The final results showed the presence of Salmonella spp. in 25% of samples, S. Enteritidis was present in 12% of the Salmonella-positive samples and S. Typhimurium in 3% of the samples. The m-PCR assay developed in this study is a specific and rapid alternative method for the identification of Salmonella spp. and allowed the observation of specific serovar contamination in the field conditions within the locations where these chickens are typically raised.

Skeletal muscle calcium channel ryanodine and the development of pale, soft, and exudative meat in poultry.

The development of pale, soft, and exudative (PSE) breast fillet meat has become an economic burden for the poultry industry worldwide. PSE meat results in 1.0-1.5% loss in moisture and carcass weight, and a 2010 estimate of the Brazilian annual production put the economic loss due to PSE at over US$30 million. In the USA, PSE has caused an annual loss of up to US$200 million to the poultry industries. The underlying causes of the color abnormality in PSE meat are not fully understood. However, the likely physiological origin of PSE broiler meat is an excessive release of Ca(2+) promoted by a genetic mutation of the ryanodine receptor (RYR), a Ca(2+)-channel protein in the skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. In pigs, the genetic cause of PSE meat has been identified as a point mutation in the RYR1 gene at nucleotide 1843, which causes an amino acid substitution (Arg615 to Cys615) in the RYR. This mutation leads to an alteration in Ca(2+) homeostasis, hypermetabolism, intense muscle contraction, and malignant hyperthermia in pigs susceptible to porcine stress syndrome. An understanding of this process represents the basis for breeding strategies aimed at eliminating the RYR1 mutation from global pig populations, a strategy that the poultry industry intends to emulate. The aim of this study was to review the subject, with an emphasis on the most recent developments in the field.

Detection of Salmonella spp, Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium in naturally infected broiler chickens by a multiplex PCR-based assay

The presence of Salmonella in the intestinal tract, on the chickens skin and among their feathers, may cause carcasses contamination during slaughtering and processing and possibly it is responsible by the introduction of this microorganism in the slaughterhouses. A rapid method to identify and monitor Salmonella and their sorovars in farm is becoming necessary. A pre-enriched multiplex polymerase chain reaction (m-PCR) assay employing specific primers was developed and used to detect Salmonella at the genus level and to identify the Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) in broiler chicken swab samples. The method was validated by testing DNA extract from 90 fresh culture cloacal swab samples from poultry chicken cultured in phosphate buffer peptone water at 37 ºC for 18 h. The final results showed the presence of Salmonella spp. in 25% of samples, S. Enteritidis was present in 12% of the Salmonella-positive samples and S. Typhimurium in 3% of the samples. The m-PCR assay developed in this study is a specific and rapid alternative method for the identification of Salmonella spp. and allowed the observation of specific serovar contamination in the field conditions within the locations where these chickens are typically raised.

A new single nucleotide polymorphism in the ryanodine gene of chicken skeletal muscle.

Some genes affect meat quality in chickens. We looked for polymorphisms in the Gallus gallus α-RyR gene (homologous to RyR 1) that could be associated with PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat. Because RyR genes are over 100,000 bp long and code for proteins with about 5000 amino acids, primers were designed to amplify a fragment of hotspot region 2, a region with a high density of mutations in other species. Total blood DNA was extracted from 50 birds, 25 that had PSE meat and 25 normal chickens. The DNA samples were amplified by PCR, cloned, sequenced, and used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The amplified fragment of α-RyR was 604 nucleotides in length; 181 nucleotides were similar to two exons from a hypothetical turkey cDNA sequence for α-RyR. A non-synonymous nucleotide substitution (G/A) was identified in at least one of the three sequenced clones obtained from nine animals, six PSE (HAL+) birds and three normal (HAL-) birds; they were heterozygous for this mutation. This SNP causes a change from Val to Met in the α-RYR protein. Since the frequencies of this SNP were not significantly different in the PSE versus normal chickens, it appears that this mutation (in heterozygosity) does not alter the structure or function of the muscle protein, making it an inappropriate candidate as a genetic marker for PSE meat.

Heat and chemical stress modulate the expression of the alpha-RYR gene in broiler chickens.

The biological cause of Pork Stress syndrome, which leads to PSE (pale, soft, exudative) meat, is excessive release of Ca(2+) ions, which is promoted by a genetic mutation in the ryanodine receptors (RyR) located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the skeletal muscle cells. We examined the relationship between the formation of PSE meat under halothane treatment and heat stress exposure in chicken alphaRYR hot spot fragments. Four test groups were compared: 1) birds slaughtered without any treatment, i.e., the control group (C); 2) birds slaughtered immediately after halothane treatment (H); 3) birds slaughtered immediately after heat stress treatment (HS), and 4) birds exposed to halothane and to heat stress (H+HS), before slaughtering. Breast muscle mRNA was extracted, amplified by RT-PCR, and sequenced. PSE meat was evaluated using color determination (L* value). The most common alteration was deletion of a single nucleotide, which generated a premature stop codon, resulting in the production of truncated proteins. The highest incidence of nonsense transcripts came with exposure to halothane; 80% of these abnormal transcripts were detected in H and H+HS groups. As a consequence, the incidence of abnormal meat was highest in the H+HS group (66%). In HS, H, and C groups, PSE meat developed in 60, 50, and 33% of the samples, respectively. Thus, halothane apparently modulates alphaRYR gene expression in this region, and synergically with exposure to heat stress, causes Avian Stress syndrome, resulting in PSE meat in broiler chickens.