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Chang RK, Miller MA, Tekedar HC, Rose D, García JC, LaFrentz BR, Older CE, Waldbieser GC, Pomaranski E, Shahin K, Camus AC, Batac F, Byrne BA, Murray MJ, Griffin MJ, Soto E. Pathology, microbiology, and genetic diversity associated with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and novel Erysipelothrix spp. infections in southern sea otters ( Enhydra lutris nereis). Front Microbiol 2024; 14:1303235. [PMID: 38361579 PMCID: PMC10867225 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1303235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Erysipelothrix spp., including E. rhusiopathiae, are zoonotic bacterial pathogens that can cause morbidity and mortality in mammals, fish, reptiles, birds, and humans. The southern sea otter (SSO; Enhydra lutris nereis) is a federally-listed threatened species for which infectious disease is a major cause of mortality. We estimated the frequency of detection of these opportunistic pathogens in dead SSOs, described pathology associated with Erysipelothrix infections in SSOs, characterized the genetic diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility of SSO isolates, and evaluated the virulence of two novel Erysipelothrix isolates from SSOs using an in vivo fish model. From 1998 to 2021 Erysipelothrix spp. were isolated from six of >500 necropsied SSOs. Erysipelothrix spp. were isolated in pure culture from three cases, while the other three were mixed cultures. Bacterial septicemia was a primary or contributing cause of death in five of the six cases. Other pathology observed included suppurative lymphadenopathy, fibrinosuppurative arteritis with thrombosis and infarction, bilateral uveitis and endophthalmitis, hypopyon, petechia and ecchymoses, mucosal infarction, and suppurative meningoencephalitis and ventriculitis. Short to long slender Gram-positive or Gram-variable bacterial rods were identified within lesions, alone or with other opportunistic bacteria. All six SSO isolates had the spaA genotype-four isolates clustered with spaA E. rhusiopathiae strains from various terrestrial and marine animal hosts. Two isolates did not cluster with any known Erysipelothrix spp.; whole genome sequencing revealed a novel Erysipelothrix species and a novel E. rhusiopathiae subspecies. We propose the names Erysipelothrix enhydrae sp. nov. and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae ohloneorum ssp. nov. respectively. The type strains are E. enhydrae UCD-4322-04 and E. rhusiopathiae ohloneorum UCD-4724-06, respectively. Experimental injection of tiger barbs (Puntigrus tetrazona) resulted in infection and mortality from the two novel Erysipelothrix spp. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Erysipelothrix isolates from SSOs shows similar susceptibility profiles to isolates from other terrestrial and aquatic animals. This is the first description of the pathology, microbial characteristics, and genetic diversity of Erysipelothrix isolates recovered from diseased SSOs. Methods presented here can facilitate case recognition, aid characterization of Erysipelothrix isolates, and illustrate assessment of virulence using fish models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ri K. Chang
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA, United States
| | - Melissa A. Miller
- Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Hasan C. Tekedar
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, MS, United States
| | - Divya Rose
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, MS, United States
| | - Julio C. García
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Benjamin R. LaFrentz
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Aquatic Animal Health Research Unit, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Caitlin E. Older
- USDA-ARS, Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit, Stoneville, MS, United States
| | | | - Eric Pomaranski
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Khalid Shahin
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Aquatic Animal Diseases Laboratory, Aquaculture Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Suez, Egypt
| | - Alvin C. Camus
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Francesca Batac
- Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Barbara A. Byrne
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | | | - Matt J. Griffin
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State University, Stoneville, MS, United States
| | - Esteban Soto
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Volokhov DV, Batac F, Gao Y, Miller M, Chizhikov VE. Mycoplasma enhydrae sp. nov. isolated from southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2019; 69:363-370. [DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.003144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dmitriy V. Volokhov
- 1Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Francesca Batac
- 2California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, 151 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Yamei Gao
- 1Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
| | - Melissa Miller
- 2California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, 151 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA
| | - Vladimir E. Chizhikov
- 1Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
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Shen Z, Batac F, Mannion A, Miller MA, Bakthavatchalu V, Ho C, Manning S, Paster BJ, Fox JG. Novel urease-negative Helicobacter sp. 'H. enhydrae sp. nov.' isolated from inflamed gastric tissue of southern sea otters. Dis Aquat Organ 2017; 123:1-11. [PMID: 28177288 DOI: 10.3354/dao03082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A total of 31 sea otters Enhydra lutris nereis found dead or moribund (and then euthanized) were necropsied in California, USA. Stomach biopsies were collected and transected with equal portions frozen or placed in formalin and analyzed histologically and screened for Helicobacter spp. in gastric tissue. Helicobacter spp. were isolated from 9 sea otters (29%); 58% (18 of 31) animals were positive for helicobacter by PCR. The Helicobacter sp. was catalase- and oxidase-positive and urease-negative. By electron microscopy, the Helicobacter sp. had lateral and polar sheathed flagella and had a slightly curved rod morphology. 16S and 23S rRNA sequence analyses of all 'H. enhydrae' isolates had similar sequences, which clustered as a novel Helicobacter sp. closely related to H. mustelae (96-97%). The genome sequence of isolate MIT 01-6242 was assembled into a single ~1.6 Mb long contig with a 40.8% G+C content. The annotated genome contained 1699 protein-coding sequences and 43 RNAs, including 65 genes homologous to known Helicobacter spp. and Campylobacter spp. virulence factors. Histological changes in the gastric tissues extended from mild cystic degeneration of gastric glands to severe mucosal erosions and ulcers. Silver stains of infected tissues demonstrated slightly curved bacterial rods at the periphery of the gastric ulcers and on the epithelial surface of glands. The underlying mucosa and submucosa were infiltrated by low numbers of neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes, with occasional lymphoid aggregates and well-defined lymphoid follicles. This is the second novel Helicobacter sp., which we have named 'H. enhydrae', isolated from inflamed stomachs of mustelids, the first being H. mustelae from a ferret.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeli Shen
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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