1.
Infect Immun
; 74(11): 6496-500, 2006 Nov.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16923791
ABSTRACT
The Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin has previously been implicated as the major virulence factor in necrotic enteritis in chickens, although definitive proof has not been reported. In this study an alpha-toxin mutant was constructed in a virulent chicken isolate and shown to retain full virulence in a chicken disease model. These results demonstrated that alpha-toxin is not an essential virulence factor in the pathogenesis of necrotic enteritis in chickens.