Genome Analysis of Enterococcus cecorum
Enterococcus cecorum is a commensal bacterium of the gut microbiota of adult chickens. This bacterium has emerged over the last 20 years as a significant cause of locomotor disorders in poultry worldwide, particularly in fast-growing broilers. E. cecorum is mostly responsible for osteomyelitis, spondylitis, vertebral osteoarthritis, and femoral head necrosis, causing substantial losses in broiler production due to culling, mortality, condemnations at the slaughterhouse, veterinary costs, and increased exposure to antibiotics. A new study found that most clinical isolates are grouped phylogenetically, and six genes discriminate 94% of isolates associated with disease from those that are not. This genomic analysis shows that disease-associated clones of E. cecorum belong mainly to one phylogenetic clade - clade E.
