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The primary objectives are to:
<ul><li>determine the role of noradrenaline in inducing an apparent commensal bacterium to invade tissues in the stressed avian gut </li>
<li>identify the bacterial determinants involved in the responses to noradrenaline </li>
<li>examine the role of noradrenaline in iron uptake and metabolism </li>
<li>examine the role of noradrenaline induced bacterial fitness in facilitating disease transmission</li></ul>
<p>In order to begin to control campylobacter infection in broiler chickens and reduce the risk of food poisoning to consumers it is important to have a better understanding of how campylobacter infects birds.</p>
<p>This study will provide information on the factors involved in campylobacter colonisation of the gut in broiler chickens, how host stress responses modulate campylobacter pathogenicity and the impact of production methods on infection in broilers. This could lead to the development of new intervention measures to control campylobacter and improvements in animal welfare to reduce stress.</p>
<p>This is a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/FSA research project funded under the Government Partnership Award scheme. The project will investigate the hypothesis that noradrenaline, produced by poultry in response to production stresses such as thinning/transport/etc, makes it easier for C. jejuni gut to colonise the travel across the gut epithelium to other tissues. This leads to increased campylobacter numbers in the bird and thus increases the risk of disease transmission from bird to human. </p>