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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301588
Title: A multilocus sequence typing method and curated database for Mycoplasma bovis

Author
item Register, Karen
item THOLE, LUKE - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Mycoplasma bovis is a primary agent of mastitis, pneumonia and arthritis in cattle and is the bacterium isolated most frequently from the polymicrobial syndrome known as bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC). Recently, M. bovis has emerged as a significant problem in bison, causing necrotic pharyngitis, pneumonia, dystocia and abortion. It can also be isolated from the upper respiratory tract of apparently healthy cattle and bison. Whether isolates from cattle and bison, or those from healthy versus diseased animals, comprise genetically distinct populations is unknown. This study describes the development of a standardized, robust and discriminatory typing method for M. bovis and its use to investigate the population structure of the bacterium. Three publicly available and two privately available genome sequences for M. bovis were used for selection of gene targets for a Multilocus Sequencing Typing (MLST) method. Of twenty-two candidate housekeeping genes initially evaluated, seven were selected as MLST targets on the basis of sequence variability and distribution within the genome. For each gene target sequence, ranging in size from 312 bp to 574 bp, 4 to 7 alleles could be distinguished that, collectively, define 29 sequence types (STs) from a collection of 93 cattle isolates and 42 bison isolates. A phylogenetic tree based on the concatenated target gene sequences of each isolate reveals that bison isolates are genetically distinct from strains that infect cattle, suggesting recent disease outbreaks in bison may be due to the emergence of novel genetic variants. No correlation was found between ST and disease presentation or geographic origin. A curated MLST database for M. bovis has been established at pubMLST.org and will soon be made publicly available. The MLST scheme and database provide a novel tool for tracking strain evolution and for investigating outbreaks.