Regulated expression of virulence gene mviN provides protective immunity and colonization control of Salmonella in poultry

Current live attenuated vaccines for control of Salmonella in poultry persist in the ceca and may persist in the environment. In this paper we report the construction and characterization of the vaccine efficacy of a Salmonella mutant strain with inducible mviN expression and rapid clearance from the host. The mutant was effective in oral immunization of the broiler chicken host against a virulent Salmonella oral challenge strain, having a mean 7 × 10⁶ CFU/g in the ceca of unvaccinated controls compared to a mean 2 × 10³ CFU/g in the ceca of vaccinated chickens at 4 weeks post-challenge (6 weeks of age). The mutant strain also demonstrated immunogenicity, reduced organ colonization, and rapid clearance in broiler chickens within 3 weeks of inoculation.