Clostridium perfringens Produces an Adhesive Pilus Required for the Pathogenesis of Necrotic Enteritis in Poultry

In necrotic enteritis (NE), an intestinal disease of chickens, Clostridium perfringens cells adhere tightly to damaged intestinal tissue, but the factors involved are not known. We previously discovered a cluster of C. perfringens genes predicted to encode a pilus, a hair-like bacterial surface structure commonly involved in adherence.