Identification of Corynebacterium ulcerans and Erysipelothrix sp. in Malayan pangolins-a potential threat to public health?

Autor: Wang H; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Wang X; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Cao Y; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Chen Y; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Zou Z; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Lu X; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Shan F; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Tu J; College of Veterinary Medicine, National Risk Assessment Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistant of Microorganisms in Animals, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmaceutics Development and Safety Evaluation, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Liu J; College of Veterinary Medicine, National Risk Assessment Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistant of Microorganisms in Animals, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmaceutics Development and Safety Evaluation, Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Liu J; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Sa J; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Zhou N; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Peng S-M; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Zou J-J; Guangdong Provincial Wildlife Monitoring and Rescue Center, Guangzhou, China., Shen X; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China., Zhai J; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Chen Z; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Holmes EC; School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia., Chen W; Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou Wildlife Research Center, Guangzhou, China., Shen Y; State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: MSphere [mSphere] 2024 Oct 29; Vol. 9 (10), pp. e0055124. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 30.
DOI: 10.1128/msphere.00551-24
Abstrakt: The discovery of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2-like and Middle East respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-like viruses in Malayan pangolins has raised concerns about their potential role in the spread of zoonotic diseases. Herein, we describe the isolation and whole-genome sequencing of potentially zoonotic two bacterial pathogens from diseased Malaysian pangolins ( Manis javanica )- Corynebacterium ulcerans and Erysipelothrix sp. The newly identified species were designated as C. ulcerans P69 and Erysipelothrix sp. P66. C. ulcerans P69 exhibited 99.2% whole-genome nucleotide identity to human bacterial isolate 4940, suggesting that it might have zoonotic potential. Notably, C. ulcerans P69 lacked the diphtheria toxin ( tox ) gene that is widely used in vaccines to protect humans from corynebacterial infection, which suggests that the current vaccine may be of limited efficacy against this pangolin strain. C. ulcerans P69 also contains other known virulence-associated genes such as pld and exhibits resistance to several antibiotics (erythromycin, clindamycin, penicillin G, gentamicin, tetracycline), which may affect its effective control. Erysipelothrix sp. P66 was closely related to Erysipelothrix sp. strain 2-related strains, exhibiting 98.8% whole-genome nucleotide identity. This bacterium is lethal in mice, and two commercial vaccines failed to protect its challenge, such that it could potentially pose a threat to the swine industry. Overall, this study highlights that, in addition to viruses, pangolins harbor bacteria that may pose a potential threat to humans and domestic animals, and which merit attention.
Importance: This study firstly reports the presence of two potentially zoonotic bacteria, Corynebacterium ulcerans and Erysipelothrix sp., in diseased Malaysian pangolins collected in 2019. The pangolin C. ulcerans is lethal in mice and resists many antibiotics. It clustered with a lethal human strain but lacked the diphtheria toxin gene. Diphtheria toxin is widely used as a vaccine around the world to protect humans from the infection of corynebacteria. The lack of the tox gene suggests that the current vaccine may be of limited efficacy against this pangolin strain. The pangolin Erysipelothrix sp. is the sister clade of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae . It is lethal in mice, and two commercial vaccines failed to protect the mice against challenge with the pangolin Erysipelothrix sp., such that this strain could potentially pose a threat to the swine industry. These findings emphasize the potential threat of pangolin bacteria.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Databáze: MEDLINE