SspA Is Required for LethalSalmonella entericaSerovar Typhimurium Infections in Calves but Is Not Essential for Diarrhea

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Abstract
Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) encodes virulence determinants, which are important for enteropathogenicity in calves. To determine whether the Salmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium SPI-1 effector proteins SspA and SptP are important for enteropathogenicity, strains lacking these proteins were tested during oral infection of calves. Calves infected with asptP mutant or its isogenic parent developed diarrhea and lethal morbidity. In contrast, calves infected with an sspAmutant developed diarrhea, which resolved within 10 days but did not result in mortality. The sspA mutant was recovered from bovine intestinal tissues at numbers similar to those obtained for its isogenic parent and caused marked intestinal lesions. Thus, the severity of pathological changes caused by serovar Typhimurium strains or their ability to cause diarrhea were not predictive of their ability to cause lethal morbidity in calves. We conclude that factors other than or in addition to bacterial colonization, intestinal lesions, or electrolyte loss contribute to lethal morbidity in calves infected with serovar Typhimurium.