Evaluation of the Pathogenicity of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Gallinarum Biovar Gallinarum with Deletions in the aceE and rfaJ genes during infection in commercial birds (Gallus gallus domesticus)

• Grant number: 25/08338-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Angelo Berchieri Junior
• Grantee: Tulio Spina de Lima
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Salmonella spp. is a Gram-negative bacterium that has a great ability to invade and survive intracellularly. This pathogen has in your external membrane lipopolysaccharides (LPS) with Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs), which are recognized by innate immune system cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, through membrane receptors called Pattern-Recognition Receptors (PRRs), beginning the local inflammatory process. In the intracellular environment, Salmonella forms a Salmonella-containing vacuole (SVC), utilizing glycolysis or citric acid cycle for cellular respiration, and with other virulence factors, intracellular survival is possible. However, intracellular survival and systemic infection mechanisms are unclear. This project proposes to analyze the behavior of the Salmonella Gallinarum biovar Gallinarum and Salmonella Enteritidis with deletions of genes associated with cellular metabolism and LPS shaping (aceE and rfaJ, respectively) during infection of commercial bird lineages, as well as the chicken macrophage-like cell line HD-11.