Microbiology and horses explores the interactions between microorganisms and equine hosts, focusing on the role of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microbes in horse health and disease. This field examines the microbial flora present in various equine environments, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, and respiratory system, and investigates how these microorganisms influence equine physiology and pathology. Research in this area includes studies on microbial infections that affect horses, the development of antimicrobial resistance, and the impact of probiotics and prebiotics on equine health. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the diversity, dynamics, and implications of microbial communities in horses, as well as the strategies for managing microbial-related diseases.
Sasaki Y, Suzuki S, Kusaba N, Rahman N, Aikawa C, Okamura M.In recent years, reported cases of salmonellosis in cattle and horses in Hokkaido, Japan, have increased. To optimize antimicrobial therapy, we assessed the antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolates from these animals. Among 112 bovine isolates, high resistance rates were observed for streptomycin (92.0%), ampicillin (88.4%), and tetracycline (79.5%), while resistance rates for kanamycin (8.9%), ciprofloxacin (1.8%), gentamicin (0.0%), and colistin (0.0%) were low. Additionally, 18.8% of the bovine isolates were resistant to cefotaxime, and all of these cefotaxime-resistant isolates ...
Busch F, Leal ODA, Siebers N, Brüggemann N.During composting of organic waste, nitrogen is lost through gaseous forms and ion leaching. Biochar has been shown to capture mineral nitrogen (N: NH and NO ) from compost, which we hypothesize reduces NO formation. However, associating N captured by biochar with the dynamics of NO and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during composting remains unstudied and was the aim of this work. We composted (outdoor for 148 days) together kitchen scraps (43.3% dw, where dw is dry weight), horse manure (40.9% dw), and wheat (Triticum aestivum L) straw (15.8% dw) without (Control) or with biochar (Bc,...
Feugang JM, Gad A, Menjivar NG, Ishak GM, Gebremedhn S, Gastal MO, Dlamini NH, Prochazka R, Gastal EL, Tesfaye D.Ovarian follicular fluid (FF) is a dynamic environment that changes with the seasons, affecting follicle development, ovulation, and oocyte quality. Cells in the follicles release tiny particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing vital regulatory molecules, such as microRNAs (miRNAs). These miRNAs are pivotal in facilitating communication within the follicles through diverse signaling and information transfer forms. EV-coupled miRNA signaling is implicated to be associated with ovarian function, follicle and oocyte growth and response to various environmental insults. Herein, we in...
Knox A, Beddoe T. subspecies , commonly referred to as "strangles", poses a significant biosecurity challenge across equine farms worldwide. The continuous prevalence and highly transmissibility of strangles necessitates a rapid and accurate diagnostic procedure. However, current "gold-standard" techniques, such as cultures and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), are unreliable or inaccessible, and require lengthy periods between sample collection and results. Moreover, the lack of a standardized detection protocol can lead to variations in results. This study aimed to develop a reproducible and fie...
Fahey MJ, Harman RM, Thomas MA, Pugliese BR, Peters-Kennedy J, Delco ML, Van de Walle GR.We aimed to study the antimicrobial and pro-healing potential of equine mesenchymal stromal cell secreted products (i.e. secretome), collected as conditioned media (mesenchymal stromal cell-conditioned media, MSC CM), in a novel in vivo model of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-inoculated equine thorax wounds. Methods: Prospective in vivo study. Methods: Two Thoroughbred geldings. Methods: Six full-thickness cutaneous wounds were created bilaterally on the dorsal thorax of two horses (n = 12 wounds/horse). Wounds on the left thoraces were inoculated with MRSA on day 0. Al...
Takahashi Y, Niwa H, Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Yoshida T, Raidal S, Padalino B, Ohmura H.Protection of horse welfare during transport is crucial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of head and neck restraint on behavior and airway bacteria. Unassigned: In a randomized crossover study, six healthy Thoroughbreds were transported by road for 22 h in an individual bay with tight head restraint (50 cm short-rope) or loose head restraint (95 cm long-rope). Behavioral parameters relating to head position, eating, and stress were monitored during transportation. Tracheal wash samples were obtained 6 days before and immediately after transport for bacterial culture a...
Samir A, Abdel-Moein KA, Zaher HM.The upsurge of diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs)/plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase (pAmpC) among animals constitutes an emerging threat for humans and animals. This study investigated the burden of ESBL-/pAmpC-producing diarrheagenic E. coli among diarrheic foals and its potential public health implications. Rectal swabs were collected from 80 diarrheic foals. These swabs were processed to isolate and identify ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli using a selective culture medium, biochemical tests, phenotypic identification, and molecular identificati...
To provide some glimpses on the possibility of shaping the human gut microbiome (GM) through probiotic exchange with natural ecosystems, here we explored the impact of 15 days of daily interaction with horses on the GM of 10 urban-living Italian children. Specifically, the children were in close contact with the horses in an "educational farm", where they spent almost 10 h/day interacting with the animals. The children's GM was assessed before and after the horse interaction using metabarcoding sequencing and shotgun metagenomics, along with the horses' skin, oral and fecal microbiomes. Targ...
Martínez-Aranzales JR, Córdoba-Agudelo M, Pérez-Jaramillo JE.Crib-biting is a stereotyped oral behavior with poorly understood etiology and pathophysiology. The relationship between the gut microbiome and brain function has been described in behavioral disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and anxiety in humans. In horses, studies of behavioral problems and the microbiome are very limited. This study aimed to characterize the fecal microbiome and the predicted functional profile of horses with and without aerophagia. Fecal samples were collected from 12 Colombian Creole Horses of both sexes, divided into two groups: group 1, composed of six horses...
Martineau M, Ambroset C, Lefebvre S, Kokabi É, Léon A, Tardy F.Mycoplasma spp. are wall-less bacteria with small genomes (usually 0.5-1.5 Mb). Many Mycoplasma (M.) species are known to colonize the respiratory tract of both humans and livestock animals, where they act as primary pathogens or opportunists. M. equirhinis was described for the first time in 1975 in horses but has been poorly studied since, despite regular reports of around 14% prevalence in equine respiratory disorders. We recently showed that M. equirhinis is not a primary pathogen but could play a role in co-infections of the respiratory tract. This study was a set up to propose the fir...
Navarrete-López P, Asselstine V, Maroto M, Lombó M, Cánovas Á, Gutiérrez-Adán A.RNA molecules within ejaculated sperm can be characterized through whole-transcriptome sequencing, enabling the identification of pivotal transcripts that may influence reproductive success. However, the profiling of sperm transcriptomes through next-generation sequencing has several limitations impairing the identification of functional transcripts. In this study, we explored the nature of the RNA sequences present in the sperm transcriptome of two livestock species, cattle and horses, using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. Through processing of transcriptomic data derived from bovine and...
Derbala MK, Abu-Seida AM, El-Metwally AE, Asfour HAE.Embryo transfer (ET) is regarded as one of the reproductive methods for genetic improvement initiatives in the horse business. The current study aimed to increase the success rate of ET by re-flushing and re-transferring of embryos from contaminated recipient mares into second healthy recipients. The study involved 25 recipient mares that demonstrated embryonic vesicles inside intraluminal fluid (ILF) on ultrasound scanning 2 ± 0.5 days after ET. Seven recipient mares were left without re-flushing and re-transferring of embryos (control group) and 18 recipient mares (treated group) were subje...
Fugazzola MC, De Ruijter M, Veraa S, Plomp S, van Buul W, Hermsen G, van Weeren R.The objective of this study was to evaluate a non-resorbable implant for the focal repair of chondral defects in eight adult horses with 12-month follow-up. The bi-layered construct composed of a polycarbonate-urethane-urea biomaterial which was printed in 3D fashion onto a bone anchor was implanted into surgically created osteochondral defects into the femoropatellar joints of eight horses. The analysis of post-mortem outcomes were compared to defects treated with microfracture in the same animal on the contralateral femoropatellar jointfemoropatellar joint. The overall macroscopic scoring af...
Eydi J, Tukmechi A.The most serious problem in public health is salmonellosis, a common disease in horse. The aim of this study was to investigate the shedding of serotypes in healthy Caspian pony. We examined 143 pony's fecal samples collected from the north of Iran belonging to different ages and sexes. Samples were cultured, then identification of isolates were performed by common bacteriological methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR was also used to explore the presence of and genes as virulence factors in the isolates and all were assigned to antibiotic susceptibility test via disc diffusi...
Eskola K, Aimo-Koivisto E, Heikinheimo A, Mykkänen A, Hautajärvi T, Grönthal T.Extended-spectrum β-lactamase -producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-E) are important zoonotic pathogens that can cause serious clinical infections, also in horses. Preventing the spread of ESBL-E, especially in the equine hospital environment, is key to reducing the number of difficult-to-treat infections. Estimating the local prevalence of ESBL-E in horses is crucial to establish targeted infection control programs at equine hospitals. We conducted a prevalence and risk factor study in equine patients on admission to an equine teaching hospital in Finland through a rectal ESBL-E screening specim...
Li Z, Luo Z, Hu D.Diarrhea serves as a vital health indicator for assessing wildlife populations post-reintroduction. Upon release into the wild, wild animals undergo adaptation to diverse habitats and dietary patterns. While such changes prompt adaptive responses in the fecal microbiota, they also render these animals susceptible to gastrointestinal diseases, particularly diarrhea. This study investigates variations in fecal microorganisms and hormone levels between diarrhea-afflicted and healthy Przewalski's horses. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in the alpha diversity of the fecal bacterial ...
Bullone M, Bellato A, Robino P, Nebbia P, Morello S, Marchis D, Tarducci A, Ru G.Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat, and pet-associated strains may pose a risk to human health. Equine veterinarians are at high risk of carrying methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS), but specific risk factors remain elusive, and few data are available for other personnel involved in the horse industry. The prevalence, characteristics, and risk factors for nasal carriage of MRS in horses and their caregivers were studied in northwestern Italy. Nasal swabs from 110 asymptomatic horses housed at 21 barns and 34 human caregivers were collected. Data on barns, horses, and personnel w...
Tyrnenopoulou P, Tsilipounidaki K, Florou Z, Gkountinoudis CG, Tyropoli K, Starras A, Peleki C, Marneris D, Arseniou N, Lianou DT, Katsarou EI....The objectives of this study were (a) to detect zoonotic gastrointestinal pathogens in faecal samples of horses using the FilmArray GI Panel and (b) to identify variables potentially associated with their presence. Faecal samples collected from 224 horses obtained during a countrywide study in Greece were tested by means of the BioFire FilmArray Gastrointestinal (GI) Panel, which uses multiplex-PCR technology for the detection of 22 pathogens. Gastrointestinal pathogens were detected in the faecal samples obtained from 97 horses (43.3%). Zoonotic pathogens were detected more frequently in samp...
Kannekens-Jager MM, Duim B, der Graaf-van Bloois LV, Zomer AL, Broekhuizen-Stins MJ, Boswinkel M, Wagenaar JA, Broens EM.In 2020 and 2022, nine cases of surgical site infections with a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were diagnosed in horses in an equine referral clinic. Sixteen isolates (horses, n=9; environment, n=3; and staff members, n=4) were analysed retrospectively using Nanopore whole-genome sequencing to investigate the relatedness of two suspected MRSA outbreaks (2020 and 2022). The MRSA isolates belonged to ST398 and ST612. ST398 genomes from 2020 and 2022 formed three phylogenetic clusters. The first ST398 cluster from 2020 consisted of isolates from five horses and one staff membe...
Papouskova A, Drabkova Z, Brajerova M, Krutova M, Cizek A, Tkadlec J.We performed a retrospective analysis of MRSA isolates collected at the university equine clinic including clinical isolates from 2008 to 2021 and screening environmental, equine and personnel isolates from 2016. Screening and clinical samples were cultured on Brilliance MRSA 2 and Columbia agar (Oxoid), respectively, with enrichment for environmental samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by disc diffusion. All the isolates were characterized by spa typing. Eighteen selected isolates were subjected to WGS with subsequent wgMLST clonal analysis. Among 75 MRSA isolates, five spa typ...
Mann DN, Hobert KT, Biddle AS, Crossley MS.Cyathostomins are common digestive tract parasites of grazing horses that spread through contact with horse feces. Horse feces are colonized by a variety of organisms, some of which could serve to reduce parasite loads in horse pastures. Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae (BSFL) could be an ideal candidate for biological control of cyathostomins, due to their near-global distribution, low risk of pathogen transmission, ability to develop on a variety of nutrient-poor substrates (including horse manure), and dramatic effect on microbial communities that cyat...
Żak-Bochenek A, Żebrowska-Różańska P, Bajzert J, Siwińska N, Madej JP, Kaleta-Kuratewicz K, Bochen P, Łaczmański Ł, Chełmońska-Soyta A.In the gastrointestinal mucosa, there is a close cooperation between secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and the composition of the microbiota, which aims to maintain homeostasis as well as act as a protective barrier. The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of microbiota and SIgA production in different parts of the digestive tract (small intestine, cecum, colon and rectum) of nine healthy horses and its reflection in the feces. For this purpose, we determined: the composition of the microbiome (by next-generation Sequencing of Hypervariable Regions V3-V4 and V7-V9 of the 16...
Bekele D, Dessalegn B, Tadesse B, Abey SL.Strangles, caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi, is a highly infectious disease of equines causing major health issues and financial losses. The aim of the study was to detect the presence of the SeM gene in Streptococcus equi isolated from equine suspected of having strangles. A cross-sectional study design was conducted from July to December 2022 in five districts of the central Gondar zone, Ethiopia. One-hundred sixty swab samples were taken from animals that had been clinically suspected. The SeM gene was detected using polymerase chain reaction, and the antimicrobial susceptibilit...
Kikuchi M, Murase H, Urata K, Ishige T, Nagata SI, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Ishiguro-Oonuma T, Kizaki K.Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are stable in body fluids and can serve as biomarkers for various diseases and physiological states. Although pregnancy-related miRNAs have been identified in various mammals, studies on parturition-related circulating miRNAs in mares are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to identify parturition-related miRNAs and examine their potential applications in the prediction of parturition date. miRNAs were extracted from the plasma of Thoroughbred mares 30 days (295-326 days pregnant) and 5 (323-352 days pregnant) - 0 (328-357 days pregnant) days before parturition,...
Veiga RF, Clarindo LN, Fensterseifer AL, Pompelli LH, Sfaciotte RAP, Schwarz DGG, Eloy LR, Ferraz SM.The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Streptococcus equi (S. equi subsp equi and S. equi subsp zooepidemicus) in the state of Santa Catarina and evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. For this, 420 nasal swab samples were collected from randomly selected horses. Isolation and phenotypic characterization of the bacteria were performed by sowing on 5% sheep blood agar, followed by analysis of morphotinctorial characteristics and biochemical analysis. To differentiate the main beta-hemolytic Streptococcus in horses, the fermentation profiles of the sug...
Sävilammi T, Alakangas RR, Häyrynen T, Uusi-Heikkilä S.Gastrointestinal disorders are common and debilitating in horses, but their diagnosis is often difficult and invasive. Fecal samples offer a non-invasive alternative to assessing the gastrointestinal health of horses by providing information about the gut microbiota and inflammation. In this study, we used 16S sequencing to compare the fecal bacterial diversity and composition of 27 healthy horses and 49 horses diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We also measured fecal calprotectin concentration, a marker of intestinal inflammation, in healthy horses and horses with IBD. We found ...
Ekawati N, Mutiara I, Hertati A, Kusdianawati , Mustopa AZ, Fatimah , Manguntungi B, Elviantari A.The microbial composition of Sumbawa Horse Milk is influenced by various factors, including environmental elements that encompass geographical location, climate, and conditions specific to Sumbawa. This study aimed to determine the biodiversity and genetic diversity of the microbiome of Sumbawa Horse Milk, with an emphasis on yeast. Methods: The diversity and group of yeast isolates were evaluated by the sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) method using ME2F-EM15R (1) and ME2F-EM12R (2) primers. Molecular identification using 18 S rRNA primers was then carried out on nine selected i...
Semik-Gurgul E, Pawlina-Tyszko K, Gurgul A, Szmatoła T, Rybińska J, Ząbek T.DNA methylation and microRNA (miRNA) expression are epigenetic mechanisms essential for regulating tissue-specific gene expression and metabolic processes. However, high-resolution transcriptome, methylome, or miRNAome data is only available for a few model organisms and selected tissues. Up to date, only a few studies have reported on gene expression, DNA methylation, or miRNA expression in adult equine tissues at the genome-wide level. In the present study, we used RNA-Seq, miRNA-seq, and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) data from the heart, lung, and liver tissues of healt...
Mazzuchini MP, Lisboa FP, Segabinazzi LG, Canisso IF.Endometritis is the leading cause of mare subfertility. Most mares respond to standard therapy, but alternative therapies have been developed for mares failing to respond. This study aimed to investigate a commercially available, yet unassessed, product labeled as a uterine sanitizer to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activity against microorganisms associated with endometritis and its in vitro stability to dilute antibiotics. In experiment 1, the microdilution broth technique and antimicrobial effects were assessed against Escherichia sp, Staphylococcus sp., Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas s...
Hellman S.Enteroid cultures are three-dimensional in vitro models that reflect the cellular composition and architecture of the small intestine. One limitation with the enteroid conformation is the enclosed lumen, making it difficult to expose the apical surface of the epithelium to experimental treatments. The present study was therefore conducted to generate cultures of equine enteroids and to develop methods for culture of enteroid-derived cells on a two-dimensional plane, enabling easy access to the apical surface of the epithelium. Equine enteroids were established from small intestinal crypts with...
Arroyo LG, Staempfli H, Weese JS.Clostridium difficile is an important cause of diarrhea in horses, causing sporadic and epidemic disease of varying severity. This study evaluated the molecular characteristics of 48 C. difficile isolates recovered from diarrheic horses admitted to a veterinary hospital by using PCR-ribotyping and toxin gene profile. Additionally, feces were tested for the presence of C. difficile toxin A/B via enzyme immunosorbant assay (EIA) in 38 horses. The toxin genes tcdA, tcdB and cdtB were present in 27 (56.25%), 35 (72.91%) and 2 (4.1%) strains, respectively. Eight isolates (16.6%) were A(-)B(+) varia...
Tang L, Li Y, Srivathsan A, Gao Y, Li K, Hu D, Zhang D.Captivity maybe the only choice for survival of many endangered vertebrates, and understanding its broad effects is important for animal management and conservation, including breeding endangered species for subsequent release. Extreme environmental changes during captivity may influence survival ability in the wild. Captivity decreases gut bacterial diversity in a wide range of animals. However, most studies directly compare animals living in captivity with those in the wild, and there is a lack of understanding of effects of gradient shift in lifestyle during species reintroduction based on ...
Daly K, Shirazi-Beechey SP.Nine oligonucleotide probes complementary to conserved regions of small subunit rRNA from phylogenetically defined clusters of intestinal anaerobic bacteria were designed and evaluated for use in quantitative analysis of intestinal microflora. Optimum wash temperatures (T(w)) were determined according to the temperature of dissociation (T(d)) of each probe and target group specificity was demonstrated by comparing hybridisation to target and non-target rRNA immobilised on nylon membranes. Three probes are targeted to phylogenetic clusters of Clostridiaceae, clusters III, IV and IX, with three ...
Raspa F, Dinardo FR, Vervuert I, Bergero D, Bottero MT, Pattono D, Dalmasso A, Vinassa M, Valvassori E, Bruno E, De Palo P, Valle E.Horses reared for meat production are fed high amounts of cereal grains in comparison with horses raised for other purposes. Such feeding practice may lead to risk of poor welfare consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of two feeding practices on selected metabolic parameters and production aspects. Nineteen Bardigiano horses, 14.3 ± 0.7 months of age, were randomly assigned to two groups-one fed with high amounts of cereal grains (HCG; n = 9; 43% hay plus 57% cereal grain-based pelleted feed) vs. one fed with high amounts of fibre (HFG; n = 10; 70% hay plus...
Moore CP, Fales WH, Whittington P, Bauer L.Gram-negative bacteria were the most common microbial isolates from 38 eyes of 37 horses with ulcerative keratitis. Pseudomonas sp, Enterobacter group, and Acinetobacter sp were the most prevalent. Fungi were cultured from 15 eyes and included 7 genera, with Aspergillus sp being the most prevalent. Ten of the eyes with fungal keratitis had been treated with corticosteroids. Eleven of 38 eyes had mixed bacterial and fungal infections. Clinically, the most severe cases were those in which Aspergillus and gram-negative bacteria existed in a mixed infection. On the basis of susceptibility testing,...
Perry E, Cross TL, Francis JM, Holscher HD, Clark SD, Swanson KS.The effects of travel stress on the equine cecal microbiota are poorly understood. We hypothesized that travel would affect the equine cecal microbiota. Cecally-cannulated horses (n = 6) were randomly assigned to one of two groups, travel (n = 3) and control (n = 3). Horses received a basal diet (Strategy, Purina Animal Nutrition) with 1.2% body weight mixed grass/alfalfa. Travel horses were transported to an unfamiliar location, stalled to simulate weekend horse show conditions, and then returned to the Southern Illinois University Equine Center. Control horses remained at the equine cente...
Scott EM, Arnold C, Dowell S, Suchodolski JS.Next generation sequencing (NGS) studies have demonstrated a rich and diverse ocular surface-associated microbiota in people that was previously undetected by traditional culture-based methods. The ocular surface microbiome of horses has yet to be investigated using NGS techniques. This study aimed to determine the bacterial composition of the ocular surface microbiome in healthy horses, and to identify whether there are microbial community changes over time and following topical antibiotic use. One eye of 12 horses was treated 3 times daily for 1 week with neomycin-polymyxin-bacitracin ophtha...
Gemensky-Metzler AJ, Wilkie DA, Kowalski JJ, Schmall LM, Willis AM, Yamagata M.To determine effects of topical antimicrobial and antimicrobial-corticosteroid preparations on the ocular flora of horses. animals: 40 horses. Methods: One eye was treated 3 times daily for 2 weeks with one of the following ointments: (1) neomycin-bacitracin-polymyxin B, (2) 0.6% prednisolone-0.3% gentamicin, (3) neomycin-polymyxin B-0.05% dexamethasone, or (4) treated (artificial tears) control. Contralateral eyes of treated control eyes served as untreated control eyes. Corneal and conjunctival specimens for bacterial and fungal cultures were collected prior to initiation of treatment, after...
Ibrahim S, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A, Skarzynski D.Bacterial infections of the genital tract are the major cause of reproductive failure in the mares. MiRNAs are important regulators of gene expression, mostly through transcriptional and translational regression. We hypothesized that LPS induced aberrant expression of miRNAs and their targets, which are involved in regulation of uterine homeostasis. Three groups of primary endometrial epithelial and stromal cells, and endometrial tissue explants were cultured. The 1 group was kept as control, while the 2 and 3 groups were challenged with low (0.5 μg/mL) or high (3.0 μg/mL) doses of Lipop...
Schoster A, Kunz T, Lauper M, Graubner C, Schmitt S, Weese JS.Overgrowth of enteric clostridia in dysbiosis in horses with colic is presumed but scarcely investigated. The objective was to provide prevalence data of Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens in horses with and without gastrointestinal disease in Switzerland, and investigate microbiota differences between C. difficile shedders and non-shedders. Fecal samples were taken from healthy horses (n = 103), horses with colic (n = 98) and horses with diarrhea (n = 151). Colic horses were sampled on three days. Selective enrichment culture and molecular typing for C. difficile an...
Stothart MR, McLoughlin PD, Poissant J.Prevailing 16S rRNA gene-amplicon methods for characterizing the bacterial microbiome of wildlife are economical, but result in coarse taxonomic classifications, are subject to primer and 16S copy number biases, and do not allow for direct estimation of microbiome functional potential. While deep shotgun metagenomic sequencing can overcome many of these limitations, it is prohibitively expensive for large sample sets. Here we evaluated the ability of shallow shotgun metagenomic sequencing to characterize taxonomic and functional patterns in the faecal microbiome of a model population of feral ...
Cappelli K, Capomaccio S, Viglino A, Silvestrelli M, Beccati F, Moscati L, Chiaradia E.Endurance exercise induces metabolic adaptations and has recently been reported associated with the modulation of a particular class of small noncoding RNAs, microRNAs, that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Released into body fluids, they termed circulating miRNAs, and they have been recognized as more effective and accurate biomarkers than classical serum markers. This study examined serum profile of miRNAs through massive parallel sequencing in response to prolonged endurance exercise in samples obtained from four competitive Arabian horses before and 2 h after the ...
Sellon DC, Besser TE, Vivrette SL, McConnico RS.Recently, a technique was described for amplification of Rhodococcus equi-specific chromosomal and vapA DNA from blood and tracheal wash fluids. It was hypothesized that this technique would be more sensitive than standard culture techniques or serology for diagnosis of R. equi pneumonia in foals. Tracheal wash fluid, nasal swabs, whole blood samples, and serum samples from 56 foals with pneumonia were analyzed. Final clinical diagnosis was determined by the attending clinician on the basis of final interpretation of all available information about each foal, including clinical presentation, d...
Cullor JS, Mannis MJ, Murphy CJ, Smith WL, Selsted ME, Reid TW.New approaches to antimicrobial therapy for ocular pathogens must overcome organisms that are resistant to current therapeutic modalities. This investigation examined the antimicrobial activity of novel antimicrobial neutrophil peptides (defensins NP-1 and NP-5) against isolates from clinical ocular microbial infections in humans and horses. The test panel of human clinical isolates included Candida albicans, an alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Morganella morganii. The test panel of equine pathogens included three clinical isolates of P aerug...
Kuroda T, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Shinzaki Y, Tamura N, Hobo S, Kuwano A.Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections have been confirmed in hospitalised Thoroughbred racehorses at the hospitals of two training centres in Japan since 2009. To investigate the source of infection, the authors examined the rate of nasal MRSA colonisation in 600 healthy Thoroughbred racehorses, 53 veterinarians and 16 office staff at the racehorse hospitals of the two training centres. MRSA was not isolated from healthy Thoroughbred racehorses or hospital office staff. However, MRSA was isolated from 16 veterinarians (30.1 per cent), and the colonisation rate was signif...
Karakulska J, Fijałkowski K, Nawrotek P, Pobucewicz A, Poszumski F, Czernomysy-Furowicz D.The aim of this study was an analysis of the staphylococcal flora of the nasal cavity of 42 healthy horses from 4 farms, along with species identification of CoNS isolates and determination of resistance to 18 antimicrobial agents, particularly phenotypic and genotypic methicillin resistance. From the 81 swabs, 87 staphylococci were isolated. All isolates possessed the gap gene but the coa gene was not detected in any of these isolates. Using PCR-RFLP of the gap gene, 82.8% of CoNS were identified: S. equorum (14.9%), S. warneri (14.9%), S. sciuri (12.6%), S. vitulinus (12.6%), S. xylosus (11....
Sangal V, Goodfellow M, Jones AL, Sutcliffe IC.Opinion 106 of the Judicial Commission has clarified the nomenclature of the taxon variously named , ' and . As a consequence, we present here the genus name and that of its nomenclatural type species, comb. nov., for valid publication and propose the reclassification of four rhodococcal species as novel combinations in the genus, namely Guo et al. 2015 comb. nov., Kämpfer . 2014 comb. nov., Li . 2015 comb. nov. and Lee . 2019 comb. nov. In addition, we note that a clinical isolate, strain 86-07 (=W8901), likely represents an additional species within the genus . Nearly a century after ...
Tomlinson JE, Wolfisberg R, Fahnøe U, Patel RS, Trivedi S, Kumar A, Sharma H, Nielsen L, McDonough SP, Bukh J, Tennant BC, Kapoor A, Rosenberg BR....Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) is phylogenetically the closest relative of HCV and shares genome organization, hepatotropism, transient or persistent infection outcome, and the ability to cause hepatitis. Thus, EqHV studies are important to understand equine liver disease and further as an outbred surrogate animal model for HCV pathogenesis and protective immune responses. Here, we aimed to characterize the course of EqHV infection and associated protective immune responses. Seven horses were experimentally inoculated with EqHV, monitored for 6 months, and rechallenged with the same and, subsequen...
Khosravi AR, Mahmoudi M.Between 1994 and 1998, a total of 790 feather, hair and skin specimens from a variety of animals with suspected dermatophytoses were studied, of which 248 (31.4%) yielded dermatophytes. The most frequent dermatophytes isolated were Microsporum canis (38.3%), Trichophyton verrucosum (31.8%), T. mentagrophytes (13.3%) and M. gypseum (7.7%). There was a significantly higher proportion of positive cultures from cats (54.8%) than dogs (8.2%), and M. canis was the most common species isolated (87.2 and 50% respectively). Trichophyton verrucosum was the most frequent causative agent of dermatophytose...
Okoko T, Blagova EV, Whittingham JL, Dover LG, Wilkinson AJ.Virulence and host range in Rhodococcus equi depends on the variable pathogenicity island of their virulence plasmids. Notable gene products are a family of small secreted virulence-associated proteins (Vaps) that are critical to intramacrophagic proliferation. Equine-adapted strains, which cause severe pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals, produce a cell-associated VapA that is necessary for virulence, alongside five other secreted homologues. In the absence of biochemical insight, attention has turned to the structures of these proteins to develop a functional hypothesis. Recent studies have ...
Vincze S, Brandenburg AG, Espelage W, Stamm I, Wieler LH, Kopp PA, Lübke-Becker A, Walther B.Increasing numbers of companion animals suffering from infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have been reported in the recent past. These infections are of particular concern because of the limited treatment options for MRSA and their transferability to humans. Since MRSA lineages isolated from infected companion animals often mirror typical human epidemic strains circulating in the same region, successful strategies to combat MRSA need strong and coordinated efforts from both, the human and the veterinary field according to the "One Health" concept. Hence, to iden...
Reuss SM, Giguère S.Bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract in adult horses occur when bacteria from the nasopharynx reach the lower airways and overwhelm normal defense mechanisms. Although Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus is the most commonly isolated bacterial species, mixed infections are possible. Tracheobronchial aspiration for microbiologic culture and sensitivity is suggested in cases presenting with severe clinical signs or not responding to treatment. Early intervention and appropriate antimicrobial selection results in a good prognosis for both survival and return to athletic function...
Dong HJ, Ho H, Hwang H, Kim Y, Han J, Lee I, Cho S.Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is one of the most frequently reported diseases in thoroughbred racehorses. Although several risk factors for the development of gastric ulcers have been widely studied, investigation of microbiological factors has been limited. In this study, the presence of Helicobacter spp. and the gastric microbial communities of thoroughbred racehorses having mild to severe gastric ulcers were investigated. Although Helicobacter spp. were not detected using culture and PCR techniques from 52 gastric biopsies and 52 fecal samples, the genomic sequences of H. pylori and H. ganm...
Evans K, Smith M, McDonough P, Wiedmann M.A retrospective study was conducted to determine case histories, microbiological characteristics, and molecular subtypes associated with Listeria monocytogenes infections of the eye in large animals. For selected cases, environmental L. monocytogenes contamination patterns on case farms were also evaluated to probe for potential sources and spread of listerial eye infections. Records of 170 L. monocytogenes isolates from animal infections were reviewed to determine the fraction of isolates associated with eye infections (conjunctivitis, keratitis, and uveitis) of animals and to gather informat...
Reuss SM, Cohen ND.Bacterial pneumonia is a common cause of disease in both neonatal and weanling foals. The causal organism or organisms differ with the age of the foal, should be identified via microbiologic culture, and will ultimately dictate appropriate treatment. Initial treatment in neonates should be broad spectrum and bactericidal, whereas weanling age foals may receive more targeted treatment. The combination of a macrolide antibiotic and rifampin remains the gold standard for treatment of Rhodococcus equi pneumonia; however, resistance to these antimicrobials is a concern.
Willingham-Lane JM, Berghaus LJ, Giguère S, Hondalus MK.The soil-dwelling, saprophytic actinomycete is a multihost, facultative intracellular pathogen of macrophages. When inhaled by susceptible foals, it causes severe bronchopneumonia. It is also a pathogen of pigs, which may develop submaxillary lymphadenitis upon exposure. isolates obtained from foals and pigs possess conjugative plasmids housing a pathogenicity island (PAI) containing a novel family of genes of unknown function called the virulence-associated protein or family. The PAI regions of the equine and swine plasmids differ in gene composition, with equine isolates possessing six ...
Díaz-Bertrana ML, Deleuze S, Pitti Rios L, Yeste M, Morales Fariña I, Rivera Del Alamo MM.Endometritis is one of the main causes of infertility in mares. In the present study, 363 mares with a history of repetitive infertility, and positive endometrial cytology and/or vaginal discharge were included. An endometrial swab for microbiological purposes plus sensitivity test was obtained from each mare. A positive culture was obtained in 89% of mares. The main isolated genera were (25.1%), (18.2%), (17.3%) and (12.1%). With regard to species, the most isolated microorganism was (17.3%), spp. (15.6%) and spp. (13.5%). Sensitivity tests showed that the most efficient antimicrobial ...
Waller AS, Paillot R, Timoney JF.Strangles caused by the host adapted Lancefield group C Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S. equi) is a frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide. Critical to the global success of S. equi is its ability to establish persistent infections within the guttural pouches of recovered apparently healthy horses that can result in transmission to in-contact animals. Recent research has identified key events in the S. equi genome, which occurred during its evolution from an ancestral strain of S. equi subspecies zooepidemicus, that may enhance its ability to evade host innate immune...
