FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
PloS one2025; 20(1); e0315946; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315946

Whole genome sequences of nine Taylorella equigenitalis strains isolated in the Czech Republic between 1982-2021: Molecular dating suggests a common ancestor at the time of Roman Empire.

Abstract: Taylorella equigenitalis is the causative agent of sexually transmitted contagious equine metritis. Infections manifest as cervicitis, vaginitis and endometritis and cause temporary infertility and miscarriages of mares. While previous studies have analyzed this organism for various parameters, the evolutionary dynamics of this pathogen, including the emergence of antibiotic resistance, remains unresolved. The aim of this study was to isolate contemporary strains, determine their genome sequences, evaluate their antibiotic resistance and compare them with other strains. We determined nine complete whole genome sequences of T. equigenitalis strains, mainly from samples collected from Kladruber horses in the Czech Republic. While T. equigenitalis strains from Kladruby isolated between 1982 and 2018 were inhibited by streptomycin, contemporary strains were found to be resistant to streptomycin, suggesting the recent emergence of this mutation. In addition, we used the collection dates of Kladruber horse strains to estimate the genome substitution rate, which resulted in a scaled mean evolutionary rate of 6.9×10-7 substitutions per site per year. Analysis with other available T. equigenitalis genome sequences (n = 18) revealed similarity of the Czech T. equigenitalis genomes with the Austrian T. equigenitalis genome, and molecular dating suggested a common ancestor of all analyzed T. equigenitalis strains from 1.5-2.6 thousand years ago, dating to the first centuries A.D. Our study revealed a recently emerged streptomycin resistance in T. equigenitalis strains from Kladruber horses, emphasizing the need for antibiotic surveillance and alternative treatments. Additionally, our findings provided insights into the pathogen's evolution rate, which is important for understanding its evolution and preparing preventive strategies.
Copyright: © 2025 Hrala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2025-01-03 PubMed ID: 39752466PubMed Central: PMC11698419DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315946Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

Overview

  • Researchers sequenced the genomes of nine Taylorella equigenitalis strains isolated in the Czech Republic from 1982 to 2021 to study antibiotic resistance and evolutionary history.
  • The study discovered recent emergence of streptomycin resistance and estimated that all analyzed strains share a common ancestor dating back to the Roman Empire era.

Background

  • Taylorella equigenitalis is a bacterium causing contagious equine metritis, a sexually transmitted infection in horses.
  • Infections cause reproductive issues such as cervicitis, vaginitis, endometritis, temporary infertility, and miscarriages in mares.
  • Understanding the evolutionary dynamics of this pathogen, including antibiotic resistance development, is critical but not fully resolved.

Study Objectives

  • Isolate modern and historical strains of T. equigenitalis, focusing on samples from Czech Republic Kladruber horses.
  • Sequence complete genomes of these strains to analyze genetic differences and antibiotic resistance patterns.
  • Compare Czech strains with other global strains to understand evolutionary relationships and timing.
  • Estimate the genome substitution rate and approximate the time to the most recent common ancestor for these strains.

Methods

  • Collected nine T. equigenitalis strains spanning from 1982 to 2021, predominantly isolated from Kladruber horses in the Czech Republic.
  • Generated complete whole genome sequences for each strain to obtain detailed genetic information.
  • Tested strains for antibiotic susceptibility with a focus on streptomycin resistance.
  • Conducted comparative genomic analysis incorporating 18 additional genome sequences from other countries.
  • Used molecular dating techniques based on genome substitution rates to estimate evolutionary timelines.

Key Findings

  • Strains isolated from 1982 to 2018 were generally susceptible to streptomycin, whereas more recent strains showed resistance, indicating a recent spread of streptomycin resistance.
  • The calculated genome evolutionary rate was approximately 6.9×10^-7 substitutions per site per year, a metric that helps infer mutation dynamics over time.
  • Phylogenetic comparison showed Czech strains closely related to an Austrian strain, suggesting regional genetic similarity.
  • Molecular clock dating suggested a common ancestor of the examined T. equigenitalis strains existed 1,500 to 2,600 years ago, placing the origin around the first centuries A.D., during the Roman Empire period.

Implications

  • The emergence of streptomycin resistance highlights the need for ongoing antibiotic resistance surveillance in T. equigenitalis to guide effective treatment.
  • Understanding the mutation rate and evolutionary history aids in predicting pathogen adaptation and informing preventative strategies in horse breeding and veterinary care.
  • The ancient common ancestor suggests that T. equigenitalis has a long evolutionary history within equine populations, possibly correlating with historical horse domestication and breeding patterns.

Conclusion

  • This study provides valuable insights into the recent antibiotic resistance developments and the deep evolutionary history of T. equigenitalis.
  • Findings stress the importance of monitoring antibiotic resistance in equine pathogens and utilizing genomic tools to trace pathogen evolution.
  • Such knowledge supports improved management of contagious equine metritis and the development of alternative treatments to preserve horse reproductive health.

Cite This Article

APA
Hrala M, Andrla P, Bosák J, Fedrová P, Mugutdinov A, Karpíšková R, Nedbalcová K, Raichová J, Faldyna M, Hořín P, Šmajs D. (2025). Whole genome sequences of nine Taylorella equigenitalis strains isolated in the Czech Republic between 1982-2021: Molecular dating suggests a common ancestor at the time of Roman Empire. PLoS One, 20(1), e0315946. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315946

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 20
Issue: 1
Pages: e0315946
PII: e0315946

Researcher Affiliations

Hrala, Matěj
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Andrla, Petr
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Bosák, Juraj
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Fedrová, Pavla
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Mugutdinov, Amir
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Karpíšková, Renata
  • Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Nedbalcová, Kateřina
  • Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic.
Raichová, Jitka
  • National Stud at Kladruby nad Labem, Kladruby nad Labem, Czech Republic.
Faldyna, Martin
  • Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic.
Hořín, Petr
  • Department of Animal Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno (VETUNI), Brno, Czech Republic.
  • Institute of Medical Genetics and Genomics, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Šmajs, David
  • Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses / microbiology
  • Whole Genome Sequencing
  • Czech Republic
  • Horse Diseases / microbiology
  • Taylorella equigenitalis / genetics
  • Genome, Bacterial / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / genetics
  • Female

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

This article includes 40 references
  1. Biberstein EL. Diagnostic Procedure in Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology. .
    doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-161775-2.50017–7google scholar: lookup
  2. Metcalf ES. The role of international transport of equine semen on disease transmission. Anim Reprod Sci 2001;68: 229–237.
    doi: 10.1016/s0378-4320(01)00159-2pubmed: 11744267google scholar: lookup
  3. Timoney PJ. Horse species symposium: contagious equine metritis: an insidious threat to the horse breeding industry in the United States. J Anim Sci 2011;89: 1552–1560.
    doi: 10.2527/jas.2010-3368pubmed: 20889687google scholar: lookup
  4. Hicks J, Stuber T, Lantz K, Erdman M, Robbe-Austerman S, Huang X. Genomic diversity of introduced into the United States from 1978 to 2012. PLoS One 2018;13.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194253pmc: PMC5870977pubmed: 29584782google scholar: lookup
  5. Thoresen SI, Jenkins A, Ask E. Genetic homogeneity of from Norwegian trotting horses revealed by chromosomal DNA fingerprinting. J Clin Microbiol 1995;33: 233.
    doi: 10.1128/jcm.33.1.233–234.1995pmc: PMC227917pubmed: 7699049google scholar: lookup
  6. Miyazawa T, Matsuda M, Isayama Y, Samata T, Ishida Y, Ogawa S. Genotyping of isolates of from thoroughbred brood mares in Japan. Vet Res Commun 1995;19: 265–271.
    doi: 10.1007/bf01839309pubmed: 8540238google scholar: lookup
  7. Duquesne F, Hébert L, Breuil MF, Matsuda M, Laugier C, Petry S. Development of a single multi-locus sequence typing scheme for and . Vet Microbiol 2013;167: 609–618.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2013.09.016pubmed: 24139720google scholar: lookup
  8. Duquesne F, Merlin A, Pérez-Cobo I, Sedlák K, Melzer F, Overesch G. Overview of spatio-temporal distribution inferred by multi-locus sequence typing of isolated worldwide from 1977 to 2018 in equidae. Vet Microbiol 2020;242.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2020.108597pubmed: 32122601google scholar: lookup
  9. Hébert L, Moumen B, Duquesne F, Breuil MF, Laugier C, Batto JM. Genome sequence of MCE9, the causative agent of contagious equine metritis. J Bacteriol 2011;193: 1785.
    doi: 10.1128/jb.01547-10pmc: PMC3067654pubmed: 21278298google scholar: lookup
  10. Hébert L, Moumen B, Pons N, Duquesne F, Breuil MF, Goux D. Genomic characterization of the genus. PLoS One 2012;7.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029953pmc: PMC3250509pubmed: 22235352google scholar: lookup
  11. Hauser H, Richter DC, van Tonder A, Clark L, Preston A. Comparative genomic analyses of the Taylorellae. Vet Microbiol 2012;159: 195–203.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2012.03.041pubmed: 22541164google scholar: lookup
  12. Hébert L, Touzain F, de Boisséson C, Breuil MF, Duquesne F, Laugier C. Draft Genome Sequence of Strain MCE529, Isolated from a Belgian Warmblood Horse. Genome Announc 2014;2.
    doi: 10.1128/genomea.01214-14pmc: PMC4246161pubmed: 25428969google scholar: lookup
  13. May CE, Schulman ML, Howell PG, Lourens CW, Gouws J, Joone C. Draft Genome Sequence of Strain ERC_G2224 Isolated from the Semen of a Lipizzaner Stallion in South Africa. Genome Announc 2015;3.
    doi: 10.1128/genomea.01205-15pmc: PMC4611696pubmed: 26472845google scholar: lookup
  14. Melzer F, Raßbach A, Köenig-Mozes A, Elschner MC, Tomaso H, Busch A. Draft Genome Sequence of Strain 210217RC10635, Isolated from a Pony Stallion in Germany. Microbiol Resour Announc 2018;7.
    doi: 10.1128/mra.01112-18pmc: PMC6256680pubmed: 30533657google scholar: lookup
  15. Wick RR, Judd LM, Holt KE. Performance of neural network basecalling tools for Oxford Nanopore sequencing. Genome Biol 2019;20.
    doi: 10.1186/s13059-019-1727-ypmc: PMC6591954pubmed: 31234903google scholar: lookup
  16. Chen S, Zhou Y, Chen Y, Gu J. fastp: an ultra-fast all-in-one FASTQ preprocessor. Bioinformatics 2018;34: i884–i890.
    doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/bty560pmc: PMC6129281pubmed: 30423086google scholar: lookup
  17. Andrew S. FastQC: Babraham Bioinformatics. 2010.
  18. Ewels P, Magnusson M, Lundin S, Käller M. MultiQC: summarize analysis results for multiple tools and samples in a single report. Bioinformatics 2016;32: 3047–3048.
    doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btw354pmc: PMC5039924pubmed: 27312411google scholar: lookup
  19. Wingett SW, Andrews S. FastQ Screen: A tool for multi-genome mapping and quality control. F1000Research 2018;7: 1338.
    doi: 10.12688/f1000research.15931.2pmc: PMC6124377pubmed: 30254741google scholar: lookup
  20. Wick RR, Judd LM, Gorrie CL, Holt KE. Unicycler: Resolving bacterial genome assemblies from short and long sequencing reads. PLoS Comput Biol 2017;13.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005595pmc: PMC5481147pubmed: 28594827google scholar: lookup
  21. Danecek P, Bonfield JK, Liddle J, Marshall J, Ohan V, Pollard MO. Twelve years of SAMtools and BCFtools. Gigascience 2021;10.
    doi: 10.1093/gigascience/giab008pmc: PMC7931819pubmed: 33590861google scholar: lookup
  22. McKenna A, Hanna M, Banks E, Sivachenko A, Cibulskis K, Kernytsky A. The Genome Analysis Toolkit: a MapReduce framework for analyzing next-generation DNA sequencing data. Genome Res 2010;20: 1297–1303.
    doi: 10.1101/gr.107524.110pmc: PMC2928508pubmed: 20644199google scholar: lookup
  23. Robinson JT, Thorvaldsdóttir H, Winckler W, Guttman M, Lander ES, Getz G. Integrative genomics viewer. Nat Biotechnol 2011;29: 24–26.
    doi: 10.1038/nbt.1754pmc: PMC3346182pubmed: 21221095google scholar: lookup
  24. Yoshimura D, Kajitani R, Gotoh Y, Katahira K, Okuno M, Ogura Y. Evaluation of SNP calling methods for closely related bacterial isolates and a novel high-accuracy pipeline: BactSNP. Microb genomics 2019;5.
    doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000261pmc: PMC6562250pubmed: 31099741google scholar: lookup
  25. Croucher NJ, Page AJ, Connor TR, Delaney AJ, Keane JA, Bentley SD. Rapid phylogenetic analysis of large samples of recombinant bacterial whole genome sequences using Gubbins. Nucleic Acids Res 2015;43: e15.
    doi: 10.1093/nar/gku1196pmc: PMC4330336pubmed: 25414349google scholar: lookup
  26. Hasegawa M, Kishino H, Yano T. Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA. J Mol Evol 1985;22: 160–174.
    doi: 10.1007/BF02101694pubmed: 3934395google scholar: lookup
  27. Skilling J. Nested sampling for general Bayesian computation. 2006;1: 833–859.
  28. Bouckaert R, Heled J, Kühnert D, Vaughan T, Wu CH, Xie D. BEAST 2: a software platform for Bayesian evolutionary analysis. PLoS Comput Biol 2014;10.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003537pmc: PMC3985171pubmed: 24722319google scholar: lookup
  29. Rambaut A, Drummond AJ, Xie D, Baele G, Suchard MA. Posterior Summarization in Bayesian Phylogenetics Using Tracer 1.7. Syst Biol 2018;67: 901–904.
    doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syy032pmc: PMC6101584pubmed: 29718447google scholar: lookup
  30. Rambaut A. FigTree v1.4.2. 2014.
  31. Mazurová J. Nakažlivý zánět dělohy koní. University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno. 1987, Accession number: 550950.
  32. Bzdil J, Oláhová S, Valihrachová M, Konečný J. Případ asymptomatické formy infekční metritidy koní u klisny v okrese Hodonín. Veterinarstvi 2018;68: 336–339.
  33. Patrasová E. Mikrobiologická diagnostika infekční metritidy klisen a charakterizace izolátů . University of Veterinary Sciences, Brno. 2020.
  34. Golparian D, Harris SR, Sánchez-Busó L, Hoffmann S, Shafer WM, Bentley SD. Genomic evolution of since the preantibiotic era (1928–2013): antimicrobial use/misuse selects for resistance and drives evolution. BMC Genomics 2020;21.
    doi: 10.1186/s12864-020-6511-6pmc: PMC6998845pubmed: 32013864google scholar: lookup
  35. Strouhal M, Mikalová L, Havlíčková P, Tenti P, Čejková D, Rychlík I. Complete genome sequences of two strains of subsp. from Ghana, Africa: Identical genome sequences in samples isolated more than 7 years apart. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017;11.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005894pmc: PMC5607219pubmed: 28886021google scholar: lookup
  36. Grillová L, Giacani L, Mikalová L, Strouhal M, Strnadel R, Marra C. Sequencing of subsp. from isolate UZ1974 using Anti-Treponemal Antibodies Enrichment: First complete whole genome sequence obtained directly from human clinical material. PLoS One 2018;13.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202619pmc: PMC6103504pubmed: 30130365google scholar: lookup
  37. Šmajs D, Norris SJ, Weinstock GM. Genetic diversity in : implications for pathogenesis, evolution and molecular diagnostics of syphilis and yaws. Infect Genet Evol 2012;12: 191–202.
    doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2011.12.001pmc: PMC3786143pubmed: 22198325google scholar: lookup
  38. Šmajs D, Strouhal M, Knauf S. Genetics of human and animal uncultivable treponemal pathogens. Infect Genet Evol 2018;61: 92–107.
    doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2018.03.015pubmed: 29578082google scholar: lookup
  39. Morelli G, Didelot X, Kusecek B, Schwarz S, Bahlawane C, Falush D. Microevolution of during prolonged infection of single hosts and within families. PLoS Genet 2010;6: 1–12.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001036pmc: PMC2908706pubmed: 20661309google scholar: lookup
  40. Pelchovich G, Schreiber R, Zhuravlev A, Gophna U. The contribution of common mutations in to sensitivity to ribosome targeting antibiotics. Int J Med Microbiol 2013;303: 558–562.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2013.07.006pubmed: 23972615google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Wasiński B, Złotnicka J, Kubajka M, Olejarczyk M, Szulowski K. Taylorella equigenitalis infections in Poland - results of current diagnostic investigations. J Vet Res 2025 Sep;69(3):339-344.
    doi: 10.2478/jvetres-2025-0040pubmed: 41064404google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,928 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.