Binding of Clostridium perfringens to collagen correlates with the ability to cause necrotic enteritis in chickens

Abstract

This study investigated the ability of Clostridium perfringens isolates derived from chickens to bind to collagen types I-V and gelatin. In total 21 strains from three distinct backgrounds were studied: (i) virulent strains isolated from birds suffering from necrotic enteritis, (ii) avirulent strains isolated from birds suffering from necrotic enteritis and (iii) strains isolated from healthy birds. All strains isolated from diseased birds had been assessed for virulence in a disease induction model. The virulent isolates all displayed collagen binding ability. However, most strains in the other two classes showed negligible binding to collagen. The prevalence of a previously described C. pe..