Discovery of bovine digital dermatitis-associated Treponema spp. in the dairy herd environment by a targeted deep-sequencing approach.

ABSTRACT: The bacteria associated with the infectious claw disease bovine digital dermatitis (DD) are spirochetes of the genus Treponema; however, their environmental reservoir remains unknown. To our knowledge, the current study is the first report of the discovery and phylogenetic characterization of rRNA gene sequences from DD-associated treponemes in the dairy herd environment. Although the spread of DD appears to be facilitated by wet floors covered with slurry, no DD-associated treponemes have been isolated from this environment previously. Consequently, there is a lack of knowledge about the spread of this disease among cows within a herd as well as between herds. To address the issue of DD infection reservoirs, we searched for evidence of DD-associated treponemes in fresh feces, in slurry, a

SUBMITTER: Klitgaard K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4068665 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature