Antimicrobial Resistance in Isolates from Cattle with Bovine Respiratory Disease in Bavaria, Germany

Patterns of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) regarding Pasteurella multocida (n = 345), Mannheimia haemolytica (n = 273), Truperella pyogenes (n = 119), and Bibersteinia trehalosi (n = 17) isolated from calves, cattle and dairy cows with putative bovine respiratory disease syndrome were determined. The aim of this study was to investigate temporal trends in AMR and the influence of epidemiological parameters for the geographic origin in Bavaria, Germany, between July 2015 and June 2020. Spectinomycin was the only antimicrobial agent with a significant decrease regarding not susceptible isolates within the study period (P. multocida 88.89% to 67.82%, M. haemolytica 90.24% to 68.00%). Regarding P. multocida, significant increasing rates of not susceptible isolates were found for the antimicrobials tulathromycin (5.56% to 26.44%) and tetracycline (18.52% to 57.47%). The proportions of multidrug-resistant (MDR) P. multocida isolates (n = 48) increased significantly from 3.70% to 22.90%. The proportions of MDR M. haemolytica and P. multocida isolates (n = 62) were significantly higher in fattening farms (14.92%) compared to dairy farms (3.29%) and also significantly higher on farms with more than 300 animals (19.49%) compared to farms with 100 animals or less (6.92%). The data underline the importance of the epidemiological farm characteristics, here farm type and herd size regarding the investigation of AMR.

Monitoring of bacterial agents isolated from small cattle on the territory of certain regions of the Russian Federation

The paper presents the results of bacterial screening of goat and sheep breeding enterprises in certain regions of Russia (Tver, Moscow, Smolensk regions, as well as the Republic of Mari-El and Tatarstan), conducted in the period from 2018 to 2021. In the course of this work, 556 samples of sectional material (heart, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, spleen, kidneys, liver, lymph nodes, breast, flushes from the genitourinary system, as well as exudate from purulent lesions) were subjected to a comprehensive bacteriological study. As a result of the conducted studies, 1223 isolates belonging to 25 families (111 bacterial species) were isolated and identified (by the method of time-of-flight mass spectrometry MALDI-ToF). According to the data obtained, the incidence of Escherichia coli isolation was 10.95%, Trueperella pyogenes – 5.47%, Staphylococcus aureus – 5.31%, Proteus mirabilis – 4.08%, Mannheimia haemolytica – 4.00%, Enterococcus faecalis – 3.76%, Enterobacter cloacea and Staphylococcus haemolyticus – 3.59%, Streptococcus dysgalactiae – 3.51%, Pasteurella multocida – 3.27%, Acinetobacter lwoffii – 2.78%, Staphylococcus cohnii – 2.61%, Bibersteinia trehalosi – 2.29%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa – 2.12%, Bacillus cereus and Micrococcus luteus – 1.96%, Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and Staphylococcus equorum – 1.88%, Aerococcus viridans – 1.80%, Corynebacterium xerosis – 1.72%, Clostridium perfringens, Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus pyogenes – 1.39%, Staphylococcus chromogenes and Streptococcus entericus – 1.14%, respectively. The incidence of isolation of other types of microorganisms was below 1%. The data obtained indicate the circulation of a wide range of bacteria in goat and sheep breeding enterprises of the Russian Federation, some of which should be positioned as pathogenic flora (for example, Pasteurella multocida, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium, Clostridium perfringens, etc.), some as conditionally pathogenic (Trueperella pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Bibersteinia trehalosi, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Moraxella bovis, Moraxella bovoculi, etc.), as well as the normal flora of the animal body. It is worth focusing on these data when conducting a survey of livestock enterprises in order to establish an objective epizootic situation, including taking into account the possibility of circulating pathogens of factor diseases.

Prevalence of the Pasteurellaceae bacteria in cattle farms of Moscow and Tver regions

Pasteurellaceae bacteria are etiological agents of various animal diseases. Representatives of this family can be part of the "Bovine respiratory disease complex"" - a set of viral and bacterial pathogens that cause respiratory diseases in cattle. The aim of our work was to study the prevalence of Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Bibersteinia trehalosi, and Histophillus somni in calves aged 2 to 6 months in 37 farms in Moscow and Tver regions. Respiratory swabs were examined by Real time PCR. P. multocida DNA was found in all 37 farms (89% of samples). The genetic material of M. haemolytica and H. somni was detected less often - in 28% and in 18.5% of the samples. B. trehalosi DNA was detected in 3% of the samples from 8 farms. In one sample, P. multocida type F was detected, in 90.72% of positive P. multocida samples the presence of type A was confirmed. There was no circulation of P. multocida serotypes B, D, and E. Monoinfection with P. multocida was recorded only in 6 farms out of 37. In all other farms, a combination of two or more studied microorganisms was detected. An association of four pathogens was registered in four farms. The analysis of the frequency of P. multocida, M. haemolytica, B. trehalosi, and H. somni DNA detection in calves showed no correlation with the age of the animals. This may indicate that immune status and conditions of maintenance and care in the farm are of greatest importance in Pasteurellaceae prevalence in cattle.

Mix-and-Match System for the Enzymatic Synthesis of Enantiopure Glycerol-3-Phosphate-Containing Capsule Polymer Backbones from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Bibersteinia trehalosi

ABSTRACT Capsule polymers are crucial virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria and are used as antigens in glycoconjugate vaccine formulations. Some Gram-negative pathogens express poly(glycosylglycerol phosphate) capsule polymers that resemble Gram-positive wall teichoic acids and are synthesized by TagF-like capsule polymerases. So far, the biotechnological use of these enzymes for vaccine developmental studies was restricted by the unavailability of enantiopure CDP-glycerol, one of the donor substrates required for polymer assembly. Here, we use CTP:glycerol-phosphate cytidylyltransferases (GCTs) and TagF-like polymerases to synthesize the poly(glycosylglycerol phosphate) capsule polymer backbones of the porcine pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, serotypes 3 and 7 (App3 and App7). GCT activity was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography, and polymers were analyzed using comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance studies. Solid-phase synthesis protocols were established to allow potential scale-up of polymer production. In addition, one-pot reactions exploiting glycerol-kinase allowed us to start the reaction from inexpensive, widely available substrates. Finally, this study highlights that multidomain TagF-like polymerases can be transformed by mutagenesis of active site residues into single-action transferases, which in turn can act in trans to build-up structurally new polymers. Overall, our protocols provide enantiopure, nature-identical capsule polymer backbones from App2, App3, App7, App9, and App11, Neisseria meningitidis serogroup H, and Bibersteinia trehalosi serotypes T3 and T15. IMPORTANCE Economic synthesis platforms for the production of animal vaccines could help reduce the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in animal husbandry, which contributes greatly to the increase of antibiotic resistance. Here, we describe a highly versatile, easy-to-use mix-and-match toolbox for the generation of glycerol-phosphate-containing capsule polymers that can serve as antigens in glycoconjugate vaccines against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Bibersteinia trehalosi, two pathogens causing considerable economic loss in the swine, sheep, and cattle industries. We have established scalable protocols for the exploitation of a versatile enzymatic cascade with modular architecture, starting with the preparative-scale production of enantiopure CDP-glycerol, a precursor for a multitude of bacterial surface structures. Thereby, our approach not only allows the synthesis of capsule polymers but might also be exploitable for the (chemo)enzymatic synthesis of other glycerol-phosphate-containing structures such as Gram-positive wall teichoic acids or lipoteichoic acids.

Pasteurellaceae prevalence in livestock farms in different regions of Russian Federation

The article presents the results of a PCR study of the prevalence of Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Bibersteinia trehalosi and Histophillus somni in livestock farms in 10 regions of Russia. In animals without signs of disease, P. multocida was the most common (25%), the rarest was Bibersteinia trehalosi (<1%). Most often, Pasteurellaceae bacteria were found in Tatarstan and Udmurtia; P. multocida type A was found in 96% and 89% of samples, respectively.

Detection of Frederiksenia sp. isolated from a cat with nephritis – Short communication

In this paper we report the phenotypic and partial genetic characterisation of a novel bacterium strain isolated from a cat with severe nephritis. Multilocus sequence analysis was performed on the 16S rRNA and three housekeeping (recN, rpoB, infB) gene sequences obtained by PCR. In accordance with the results of phenotypic tests, the phylogenetic analyses confirmed the relatedness of the new strain (6036) to the family Pasteurellaceae. On the phylogenetic trees, strain 6036 appeared in a separate branch, closest to that of the type species (Frederiksenia canicola) of the genus Frederiksenia. These two bacteria shared 95.14 and 76.88% identity in their partial 16S rRNA and recN gene sequences, respectively. The rpoB- and infB-based phylogenetic analyses indicated that strain 6036 is most closely related to Bibersteinia trehalosi (with 90.58% identity) and [Haemophilus] felis ATCC 49733 (89.50% identity), respectively. The predicted genome identity values, based on the recN gene sequences, suggested that strain 6036 can be classified into the genus Frederiksenia as a novel species. A PCR method, specific to strain 6036, was developed to allow its rapid and accurate identification and differentiation from F. canicola and other species of Pasteurellaceae. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of 18 antimicrobial agents for strain 6036 were also determined.

Whole-Genome Sequence of Multidrug-Resistant Bibersteinia trehalosi Strain OADDL-BT1

The genome of a multidrug-resistant strain of Bibersteinia trehalosi isolated from a calf with chronic pneumonia is presented. The draft genome sequences have been deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank.