Dataset Information

Complete Genome Sequence of Four Strains of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo isolated from Cattle in the Central United States.

ABSTRACT: Pathogenic species of Leptospira cause leptospirosis, a global zoonotic disease affecting humans and all major livestock species. Cattle act as a reservoir host for L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo which colonize the kidneys and reproductive tract from which they are excreted and transmitted to other cattle via urine, semen or uterine discharges. Bovine leptospirosis results in reproductive failure, abortion, stillbirth and loss of milk production, and is an occupational risk for those working with infected animals. A recent study determined that 7.2% of cattle from an abattoir in the central United States were actively shedding pathogenic Leptospira. Here, we report and compare the complete genome sequence of four recent isolates of L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo designated strain TC112, TC147, TC129, and TC273.

SUBMITTER: Putz EJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8922301 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Complete Genome Sequence of Four Strains of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo isolated from Cattle in the Central United States.

Putz Ellie J EJ Bayles Darrell O DO Alt David P DP Nally Jarlath E JE

Journal of genomics 20220214

Pathogenic species of Leptospira cause leptospirosis, a global zoonotic disease affecting humans and all major livestock species. Cattle act as a reservoir host for L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo which colonize the kidneys and reproductive tract from which they are excreted and transmitted to other cattle via urine, semen or uterine discharges. Bovine leptospirosis results in reproductive failure, abortion, stillbirth and loss of milk production, and is an occupational ris ...[more]

PMID: 35300048

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundLeptospirosis is a zoonotic, bacterial disease, posing significant health risks to humans, livestock, and companion animals around the world. Symptoms range from asymptomatic to multi-organ failure in severe cases. Complex species-specific interactions exist between animal hosts and the infecting species, serovar, and strain of pathogen. Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains HB203 and JB197 have a high level of genetic homology but cause different clinical presentation in the hamster model of infection; HB203 colonizes the kidney and presents with chronic shedding while JB197 causes severe organ failure and mortality. This study examines the transcriptome of L. borgpetersenii and characterizes differential gene expression profiles of strains HB203 and JB197 cultured at temperatures during routine laboratory conditions (29°C) and encountered during host infection (37°C).Methodology/principal findingsL. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains JB197 and HB203 were isolated from the kidneys of experimentally infected hamsters and maintained at 29°C and 37°C. RNAseq revealed distinct gene expression profiles; 440 genes were differentially expressed (DE) between JB197 and HB203 at 29°C, and 179 genes were DE between strains at 37°C. Comparison of JB197 cultured at 29°C and 37°C identified 135 DE genes while 41 genes were DE in HB203 with those same culture conditions. The consistent differential expression of ligB, which encodes the outer membrane virulence factor LigB, was validated by immunoblotting and 2D-DIGE. Differential expression of lipopolysaccharide was also observed between JB197 and HB203.Conclusions/significanceInvestigation of the L. borgpetersenii JB197 and HB203 transcriptome provides unique insight into the mechanistic differences between acute and chronic disease. Characterizing the nuances of strain to strain differences and investigating the environmental sensitivity of Leptospira to temperature is critical to the development and progress of leptospirosis prevention and treatment technologies, and is an important consideration when serovars are selected and propagated for use as bacterin vaccines as well as for the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

Project description:BackgroundSmallholder dairy farming is crucial for the Tanzanian dairy sector which generates income and employment for thousands of families. This is more evident in the northern and southern highland zones where dairy cattle and milk production are core economic activities. Here we estimated the seroprevalence of Leptospira serovar Hardjo and quantified potential risk factors associated with its exposure in smallholder dairy cattle in Tanzania.MethodsFrom July 2019 to October 2020, a cross-sectional survey was carried out in a subset of 2071 smallholder dairy cattle. Information about animal husbandry and health management was collected from farmers, and blood was taken from this subset of cattle. Seroprevalence was estimated and mapped to visualize potential spatial hotspots. The association between a set of animal husbandry, health management and climate variables and ELISA binary results was explored using a mixed effects logistic regression model.ResultsAn overall seroprevalence of 13.0% (95% CI 11.6-14.5%) for Leptospira serovar Hardjo was found in the study animals. There was marked regional variations with the highest seroprevalence in Iringa 30.2% (95% CI 25.1-35.7%) and Tanga 18.9% (95% CI 15.7-22.6) with odds ratios of OR = 8.13 (95% CI 4.23-15.63) and OR = 4.39 (95% CI 2.31-8.37), respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed the individual animal factors that were a significant risk for Leptospira seropositivity in smallholder dairy cattle were: animals over 5 years of age (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.05-1.9); and indigenous breed (OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.47-5.26) compared to crossbred animals SHZ-X-Friesian (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 0.99-2.21) and SHZ-X-Jersey (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.43-1.63). Farm management factors significantly associated with Leptospira seropositivity included: hiring or keeping a bull for raising purposes (OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.34-2.71); distance between farms of more than 100 meters (OR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.16-2.64); cattle kept extensively (OR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.36-3.91); farms without cat for rodent control (OR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.16-3.02); farmers with livestock training (OR = 1.62, 95% CI 1.15-2.27). Temperature (OR = 1.63, 95% CI 1.18-2.26), and the interaction of higher temperature and precipitation (OR = 1.5, 95%CI 1.12-2.01) were also significant risk factors.ConclusionThis study indicated seroprevalence of Leptospira serovar Hardjo, as well as the risk factors driving dairy cattle leptospirosis exposure in Tanzania. The study showed an overall high leptospirosis seroprevalence with regional variations, where Iringa and Tanga represented the highest seroprevalence and risk. The study highlighted the urgent need to understand the human exposures and risks from this important zoonosis to develop control measures and awareness of the problem and quantify the economic and production impacts through abortion and milk loss. In addition, given that the available data was limited to Leptospira serovar Hardjo, the study recommends more studies to identify serologically the most common serovars in cattle for targeted vaccination and risk reduction.

Project description:In New Zealand (NZ), leptospirosis is a mostly occupational zoonosis, with >66% of the recently notified cases being farm or abattoir workers. Livestock species independently maintain Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo and L. interrogans serovar Pomona, and both are included in livestock vaccines. The increasing importance in human cases of Ballum, a serovar associated with wildlife, suggests that wildlife may be an overlooked source of infection. Livestock could also act as bridge hosts for humans. Drawing from disease ecology frameworks, we chose five barriers to include in this review based on the hypothesis that cattle act as bridge hosts for Ballum. Using a narrative methodology, we collated published studies pertaining to (a) the distribution and abundance of potential wild maintenance hosts of Ballum, (b) the infection dynamics (prevalence and pathogenesis) in those same hosts, (c) Ballum shedding and survival in the environment, (d) the exposure and competency of cattle as a potential bridge host, and (e) exposure for humans as a target host of Ballum. Mice (Mus musculus), rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were suspected as maintenance hosts of Ballum in NZ in studies conducted in the 1970s-1980s. These introduced species are distributed throughout NZ, and are present on pastures. The role of other wildlife in Ballum (and more broadly Leptospira) transmission remains poorly defined, and has not been thoroughly investigated in NZ. The experimental and natural Ballum infection of cattle suggest a low pathogenicity and the possibility of shedding. The seroprevalence in cattle appears higher in recent serosurveys (3 to 14%) compared with studies from the 1970s (0 to 3%). This review identifies gaps in the knowledge of Ballum, and highlights cattle as a potential spillover host. Further studies are required to ascertain the role that wild and domestic species may play in the eco-epidemiology of Ballum in order to understand its survival in the environment, and to inform control strategies.

Project description:Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease affecting mammalian species worldwide. Cattle are a major susceptible host; infection with pathogenic Leptospira spp. represents a public health risk and results in reproductive failure and reduced milk yield, causing economic losses. The characterisation of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) from disease-causing bacteria dissects pathogenesis and underpins vaccine development. As most leptospire pathogenesis research has focused on Leptospira interrogans, this study aimed to characterise novel OMPs from another important genomospecies, Leptospira borgpetersenii, which has global distribution and is relevant to bovine and human diseases. Several putative L. borgpetersenii OMPs were recombinantly expressed, refolded and purified, and evaluated for function and immunogenicity. Two of these unique, putative OMPs (rLBL0972 and rLBL2618) bound to immobilised fibronectin, laminin and fibrinogen, which, together with structural and functional data, supports their classification as leptospiral adhesins. A third putative OMP (rLBL0375), did not exhibit saturable adhesion ability but, together with rLBL0972 and the included control, OmpL1, demonstrated significant cattle milk IgG antibody reactivity from infected cows. To dissect leptospire host-pathogen interactions further, we expressed alleles of OmpL1 and a novel multi-specific adhesin, rLBL2618, from a variety of genomospecies and surveyed their adhesion ability, with both proteins exhibiting divergences in extracellular matrix component binding specificity across synthesised orthologs. We also observed functional redundancy across different L. borgspetersenii OMPs which, together with diversity in function across genomospecies orthologs, delineates multiple levels of plasticity in adhesion that is potentially driven by immune selection and host adaptation. These data identify novel leptospiral proteins which should be further evaluated as vaccine and/or diagnostic candidates. Moreover, functional redundancy across leptospire surface proteins together with identified adhesion divergence across genomospecies further dissect the complex host-pathogen interactions of a genus responsible for substantial global disease burden.

Dataset Information

Complete Genome Sequence of Four Strains of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo isolated from Cattle in the Central United States.

Publications

Complete Genome Sequence of Four Strains of <i>Leptospira borgpetersenii</i> serovar Hardjo isolated from Cattle in the Central United States.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets