Title: Adherence pili of avian strains of Escherichia coli O78
Abstract: Avian colisepticemia starts with the invasion of the trachea by virulent strains of Escherichia coli, with strains of serotype O78 responsible for about 50% of the cases. Several O78 strains isolated from poultry with colisepticemia produced pili with a subunit of molecular weight of 18,000 that mediated adherence to avian epithelial tissues in vitro and in vivo.