The emergence and diversification of a zoonotic pathogen from within the microbiota of intensively farmed pigs.

ABSTRACT: The expansion and intensification of livestock production is predicted to promote the emergence of pathogens. As pathogens sometimes jump between species, this can affect the health of humans as well as livestock. Here, we investigate how livestock microbiota can act as a source of these emerging pathogens through analysis of Streptococcus suis, a ubiquitous component of the respiratory microbiota of pigs that is also a major cause of disease on pig farms and an important zoonotic pathogen. Combining molecular dating, phylogeography, and comparative genomic analyses of a large collection of isolates, we find that several pathogenic lineages of S. suis emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries, during an early period of growth in pig farming. These lineages have since spread betw

SUBMITTER: Murray GGR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10666105 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature