Abstract Avian intestinal spirochetosis (AIS) is a condition arising from colonization of the caeca and colon of birds with anaerobic spirochaetes of the genus Brchyspira. The purpose of the present study was evaluation of PCR amplification from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue method for detecting infected laying hens with Brachyspira Pilosicoli (an intestinal spirochaetes) with the same primers that have been used for detecting the infection in live beards. Over a 4-week period following experimental infection, the faeces of three of the eight inoculated birds became culture-positive. At post-mortem examination, no specific pathological changes were found, and in histological examination of caeca, no forming a “false brush border” were observed, but the spirochaete-form bacteria was present between the intestinal villi. faecal culture and swab culture from caeca of three infected birds became positive and confirmed by PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene of B.pilosicoli. But this gene was not detected by PCR amplification from fixed caecal tissues of infected birds. This result might be due to low number of bacteria in each section or damaging and fragmentation of target DNA.

Abstract Avian intestinal spirochetosis (AIS) is a condition arising from colonization of the caeca and colon of birds with anaerobic spirochaetes of the genus Brchyspira. The purpose of the present study was evaluation of PCR amplification from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue method for detecting infected laying hens with Brachyspira Pilosicoli (an intestinal spirochaetes) with the same primers that have been used for detecting the infection in live beards. Over a 4-week period following experimental infection, the faeces of three of the eight inoculated birds became culture-positive. At post-mortem examination, no specific pathological changes were found, and in histological examination of caeca, no forming a “false brush border” were observed, but the spirochaete-form bacteria was present between the intestinal villi. faecal culture and swab culture from caeca of three infected birds became positive and confirmed by PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene of B.pilosicoli. But this gene was not detected by PCR amplification from fixed caecal tissues of infected birds. This result might be due to low number of bacteria in each section or damaging and fragmentation of target DNA.

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