Abstract
Bovine digital dermatitis (DD) is a contagious infectious cause of lameness in cattle with unknown definitive etiologies. Many of the bacterial species detected in metagenomic analyses of DD lesions are difficult to culture, and their antimicrobial resistance status is largely unknown. Recently, a novel proximity ligation-guided metagenomic approach (Hi-C ProxiMeta) has been used to identify bacterial reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) directly from microbial communities, without the need to culture individual bacteria. The objective of this study was to track tetracycline resistance determinants in bacteria involved in DD pathogenesis using Hi-C. A pooled sample of macerated tissues from clinical DD lesions was used for this purpose. Metagenome deconvolution using ProxiMeta resulted in the creation of 40 metagenome-assembled genomes with ≥80% complete genomes, classified into five phyla. Further, 1959 tetracycline resistance genes and ARGs conferring resistance to aminoglycoside, beta-lactams, sulfonamide, phenicol, lincosamide, and erythromycin were identified along with their bacterial hosts. In conclusion, the widespread distribution of genes conferring resistance against tetracycline and other antimicrobials in bacteria of DD lesions is reported for the first time. Use of proximity ligation to identify microorganisms hosting specific ARGs holds promise for tracking ARGs transmission in complex microbial communities.
Highlights
Bovine digital dermatitis (DD) is a contagious polymicrobial complex disease that causes lameness and is the second most significant health problem, after mastitis, on dairy farms
Some bacterial taxa were identified at the species level, including Porphyromonas levii (1.04%), Treponema phagedenis (1.0%), Mycoplasma fermentans (0.63%), T. medium (0.51%), Porphyromonas somerae (0.36%), and Streptococcus henryi (0.25%)
Our study shows that tetracycline resistance genes are widely distributed in bacteria that are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of DD
Summary
Bovine digital dermatitis (DD) is a contagious polymicrobial complex disease that causes lameness and is the second most significant health problem, after mastitis, on dairy farms. Its effects include reduction of milk production, loss of fertility, premature culling, deterioration of animal welfare, and increased treatment expenses [1,2,3]. DD is widely distributed across the world in dairy cattle, but it has been recognized in beef cattle, sheep, and other ruminants [4,5,6]. High prevalence rates of DD have been reported from various countries.
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