Physicochemical Properties Influencing Presence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Soil from Small Ruminant Farms in Peninsular Malaysia

ABSTRACTBurkholderia pseudomalleiis a soil-dwelling bacterium and the cause of melioidosis, which kills an estimated 89,000 people per year worldwide. Agricultural workers are at high risk of infection due to repeated exposure to the bacterium. Little is known about the soil physicochemical properties associated with the presence or absence of the organism. Here, we evaluated the soil physicochemical properties and presence ofB. pseudomalleiin 6,100 soil samples collected from 61 rice fields in Thailand. The presence ofB. pseudomalleiwas negatively associated with the proportion of clay, proportion of moisture, level of salinity, percentage of organic matter, presence of cadmium, and nutrient levels (phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron). The presence ofB. pseudomalleiwas not associated with the level of soil acidity (P= 0.54). In a multivariable logistic regression model, the presence ofB. pseudomalleiwas negatively associated with the percentage of organic matter (odds ratio [OR], 0.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01 to 0.47;P= 0.007), level of salinity (OR, 0.06; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.74;P= 0.03), and percentage of soil moisture (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.00;P= 0.05). Our study suggests thatB. pseudomalleithrives in rice fields that are nutrient depleted. Some agricultural practices result in a decline in soil nutrients, which may impact the presence and amount ofB. pseudomalleibacteria in affected areas.IMPORTANCEBurkholderia pseudomalleiis an environmental Gram-negative bacillus and the cause of melioidosis. Humans acquire the disease following skin inoculation, inhalation, or ingestion of the bacterium in the environment. The presence ofB. pseudomalleiin soil defines geographic regions where humans and livestock are at risk of melioidosis, yet little is known about the soil properties associated with the presence of the organism. We evaluated the soil properties and presence ofB. pseudomalleiin 61 rice fields in East, Central, and Northeast Thailand. We demonstrated that the organism was more commonly found in soils with lower levels of organic matter and nutrients, including phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. We also demonstrated that crop residue burning after harvest, which can reduce soil nutrients, was not uncommon. Some agricultural practices result in a decline in soil nutrients, which may impact the presence and amount ofB. pseudomalleibacteria in affected areas.

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Case-control investigation on the risk factors of melioidosis in small ruminant farms in Peninsular Malaysia

Journal of Applied Microbiology ◽

10.1111/jam.12830 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 119 (2) ◽

pp. 331-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

H.I. Musa ◽

L. Hassan ◽

Z.H. Shamsuddin ◽

C. Panchadcharam ◽

Z. Zakaria ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Small Ruminant ◽

Case Control ◽

Peninsular Malaysia

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Influence of agricultural activity on soil morphological and physicochemical properties on sandy beach ridges along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Soil Science & Plant Nutrition ◽

10.1080/00380768.2016.1255127 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 55-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Khairul Hafiz Mohd Yusoff ◽

Arifin Abdu ◽

Katsutoshi Sakurai ◽

Sota Tanaka ◽

Yumei Kang

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Sandy Beach ◽

East Coast ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Beach Ridges

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Detection of Theileria luwenshuni (Piroplasmida: Theileriidae) from ticks infesting goats in peninsular Malaysia

Systematic and Applied Acarology ◽

10.11158/saa.24.10.14 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (10) ◽

pp. 1971-1974

Author(s):

Fang Shiang Lim ◽

Jing Jing Khoo ◽

Morvarid Akhavanrezeai ◽

Shih Keng Loong ◽

Chee Sieng Khor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Ruminant ◽

18S Rrna Gene ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Highly Pathogenic ◽

Haemaphysalis Bispinosa ◽

Theileria Luwenshuni ◽

Privately Owned ◽

Livestock Diseases

Piroplasmic parasites such as Theileria and Babesia commonly infect important livestock animals, leading to economic losses in the livestock industry. These parasites are primarily transmitted by ticks found infesting livestock animals. In Malaysia, livestock diseases caused by tick-borne pathogens are still under-studied, even though tick infestations are common in many livestock farms. Here, we molecularly detect a Theileria sp. from Haemaphysalis bispinosa ticks infesting goats in a privately-owned farm in Perak, peninsular Malaysia. PCR was performed on the DNA extracted from ticks to determine the presence of piroplasms. Three ticks were found PCR-positive for piroplasms. Sequence analyses of partial 18S rRNA gene sequences revealed the presence of a Theileria species at 100% identity to Theileria luwenshuni. Our findings suggest the presence of T. luwenshuni, a highly pathogenic Theileria sp. to sheep and goats, in the small ruminant industry in Malaysia.

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Effect of Acacia mangium Canopy on Physicochemical Characteristics and Nutrient Concentrations of the Soil at Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Malaysia

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12091259 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1259

Author(s):

Younes Hamad-Sheip ◽

Hazandy Abdul-Hamid ◽

Rambod Abiri ◽

Mohd-Nazre Saleh ◽

Johar Mohamed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Particle Density ◽

Acacia Mangium ◽

Physicochemical Characteristics ◽

Peninsular Malaysia ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Native Forest ◽

Forest Reserve ◽

Exchangeable Ca

The establishment of an Acacia mangium plantation often alters physicochemical characteristics and nutrient concentrations of soils. We aimed to evaluate the invasive potential of A. mangium forest on the soil in Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Peninsular, Malaysia. To achieve the mentioned target, four different regions, namely, the open ground region (OG), Acacia mangium region (AM), transition region (TZ), and native forest region (NF), were selected and each of the regions was divided into six plots. Composite samples were randomly taken from subplots at 0–15 cm depth (topsoil) and 15–30 cm depth (subsoil). Some physicochemical properties such as soil moisture and texture, textural classification, bulk density and particle density, pH, electric conductivity (EC), exchangeable bases (EB) (Ca, Mg and K), cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), and available phosphorous (Av. P) were analyzed. The results of our study showed that the soil of the AM region, which was clay loam, contained clay (51%), silt (32%), and sand (16%). The chemical analysis of topsoil showed significant differences in terms of OM%, exchangeable- Ca, Mg, K (molc kg−1), N (%), gravitational water content (GWC), and Avail. P between all four regions. Additionally, the highest pH and OM of topsoil were seen in the AM region with 4.5% and 4.33%, respectively. In the subsoil, there were significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) in terms of EC (ds/m), OM (%), Exchangeable- Ca, Mg and K (cmolc kg−1), GWC, available phosphorus, and N (%) between all four regions. The highest GWC, N (%), and Ca (cmolc kg−1) were observed in the AM region with 16.00, 0.14%, and 0.64 cmolc kg−1, respectively. These results showed that A. mangium changed some soil characteristics due to its invasion potential. In summary, A. mangium showed high adaptability on degraded forest land and high ability to accumulate the soil physicochemical properties to enhance its growth.

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