Mycoplasma bovis in Nordic European Countries: Emergence and Dominance of a New Clone.

Florence Tardy,Henk J Wisselink,Ulrike Lyhs,Tiina Autio,Mikael Lenz Strube,Bregtje Smid,Anne Ridley,Mikkel Lindegaard,Adélie Colin,Klara Tølbøll Lauritsen,Frank Harders,Anna Aspan,Agnès Tricot,Tarja Pohjanvirta

doi:10.3390/pathogens9110875

Abstract

Mycoplasma (M.) bovis is an important pathogen of cattle implicated in a broad range of clinical manifestations that adversely impacts livestock production worldwide. In the absence of a safe, effective, commercial vaccine in Europe, reduced susceptibility to reported antimicrobials for this organism has contributed to difficulties in controlling infection. Despite global presence, some countries have only recently experienced outbreaks of this pathogen. In the present study, M. bovis isolates collected in Denmark between 1981 and 2016 were characterized to determine (i) genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships using whole genome sequencing and various sequence-based typing methods and (ii) patterns of antimicrobial resistance compared to other European isolates. The M. bovis population in Denmark was found to be highly homogeneous genomically and with respect to the antimicrobial resistance profile. Previously dominated by an old genotype shared by many other countries (ST17 in the PubMLST legacy scheme), a new predominant type represented by ST94-adh1 has emerged. The same clone is also found in Sweden and Finland, where M. bovis introduction is more recent. Although retrieved from the Netherlands, it appears absent from France, two countries with a long history of M. bovis infection where the M. bovis population is more diverse.

Highlights

IntroductionMycoplasma and one of the major causative agents of bovine mycoplasmosis [1]
Mycoplasma (M.) bovis is one of the currently described more than 130 species of the bacterial genusMycoplasma and one of the major causative agents of bovine mycoplasmosis [1]
The results of all the different genome or loci-based analyses were mainly in agreement and suggest that the old clonal type closely related to the historical PG45 type strain that circulated in Denmark in the 1980s and 1990s appears to have been replaced by strains belonging to a new dominant genotype

Summary

Introduction

Mycoplasma and one of the major causative agents of bovine mycoplasmosis [1] It was first reported in a case of mastitis in 1961 in the USA [2] and since has been increasingly associated with a broad range of clinical manifestations, such as pneumonia (as one of the etiological agents of the bovine respiratory disease, BRD), arthritis, otitis media, and genital disorders. The growing concern of farmers and veterinarians over the last decades has been supported by several scientific studies aimed at deciphering epidemiological trends, antimicrobial resistance, pathogenesis, isolate diversity and spread, as well as diagnostics optimization Despite these efforts, extensive knowledge gaps regarding M. bovis disease, prevention, and control still remain [1]. The application of the later class of antimicrobials is restricted in food-producing animals because of their importance in human medicine (e.g., https://www.oie.int/en/for-the-media/amr/oie-amr-standards/)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion