<i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data
<i>Brucella ceti</i> infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. In this study, we analyzed all cases of <i>B. ceti</i> infection detected in striped dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline between 2012 and 2021 (<i>N</i> = 24). We focused on th...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/1034 |
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| author | Carla Grattarola Antonio Petrella Giuseppe Lucifora Gabriella Di Francesco Fabio Di Nocera Antonio Pintore Cristiano Cocumelli Giuliana Terracciano Antonio Battisti Ludovica Di Renzo Donatella Farina Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco Maria Ines Crescio Simona Zoppi Alessandro Dondo Barbara Iulini Katia Varello Walter Mignone Maria Goria Virginia Mattioda Federica Giorda Giovanni Di Guardo Anna Janowicz Manuela Tittarelli Fabrizio De Massis Cristina Casalone Giuliano Garofolo |
| author_facet | Carla Grattarola Antonio Petrella Giuseppe Lucifora Gabriella Di Francesco Fabio Di Nocera Antonio Pintore Cristiano Cocumelli Giuliana Terracciano Antonio Battisti Ludovica Di Renzo Donatella Farina Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco Maria Ines Crescio Simona Zoppi Alessandro Dondo Barbara Iulini Katia Varello Walter Mignone Maria Goria Virginia Mattioda Federica Giorda Giovanni Di Guardo Anna Janowicz Manuela Tittarelli Fabrizio De Massis Cristina Casalone Giuliano Garofolo |
| author_sort | Carla Grattarola |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Brucella ceti</i> infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. In this study, we analyzed all cases of <i>B. ceti</i> infection detected in striped dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline between 2012 and 2021 (<i>N</i> = 24). We focused on the pathogenic role of <i>B. ceti</i> through detailed pathological studies, and ad hoc microbiological, biomolecular, and serological investigations, coupled with a comparative genomic analysis of the strains. Neurobrucellosis was observed in 20 animals. The primary histopathologic features included non-suppurative meningoencephalitis (<i>N</i> = 9), meningitis (<i>N</i> = 6), and meningoencephalomyelitis (<i>N</i> = 5), which was also associated with typical lesions in other tissues (<i>N</i> = 8). Co-infections were detected in more than half of the cases, mostly involving Cetacean Morbillivirus (CeMV). The 24 <i>B. ceti</i> isolates were assigned primarily to sequence type 26 (ST26) (<i>N</i> = 21) and, in a few cases, ST49 (<i>N</i> = 3). The multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) based on whole genome sequencing (WGS) data showed that strains from Italy clustered into four genetically distinct clades. Plotting these clades onto a geographic map suggests a link between their phylogeny and the topographical distribution. These results support the role of <i>B. ceti</i> as a primary neurotropic pathogen for striped dolphins and highlight the utility of WGS data in understanding the evolution of this emerging pathogen. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:40:42Z |
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| id | doaj.art-9eb67a54a5c5409e869f430ab527903a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:40:42Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
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| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-9eb67a54a5c5409e869f430ab527903a2023-11-19T02:32:35ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172023-08-01128103410.3390/pathogens12081034<i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological DataCarla Grattarola0Antonio Petrella1Giuseppe Lucifora2Gabriella Di Francesco3Fabio Di Nocera4Antonio Pintore5Cristiano Cocumelli6Giuliana Terracciano7Antonio Battisti8Ludovica Di Renzo9Donatella Farina10Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco11Maria Ines Crescio12Simona Zoppi13Alessandro Dondo14Barbara Iulini15Katia Varello16Walter Mignone17Maria Goria18Virginia Mattioda19Federica Giorda20Giovanni Di Guardo21Anna Janowicz22Manuela Tittarelli23Fabrizio De Massis24Cristina Casalone25Giuliano Garofolo26Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 89852 Vibo Valentia, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055 Portici, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, 07100 Sassari, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico del Lazio e della Toscana, 00178 Roma, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico del Lazio e della Toscana, 56312 Pisa, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico del Lazio e della Toscana, 00178 Roma, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Puglia e della Basilicata, 71121 Foggia, ItalyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyFaculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Teramo, ItalyNational and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyNational and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyNational and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, ItalyIstituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, 10154 Torino, ItalyNational and OIE Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise, 64100 Teramo, Italy<i>Brucella ceti</i> infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans. In this study, we analyzed all cases of <i>B. ceti</i> infection detected in striped dolphins stranded along the Italian coastline between 2012 and 2021 (<i>N</i> = 24). We focused on the pathogenic role of <i>B. ceti</i> through detailed pathological studies, and ad hoc microbiological, biomolecular, and serological investigations, coupled with a comparative genomic analysis of the strains. Neurobrucellosis was observed in 20 animals. The primary histopathologic features included non-suppurative meningoencephalitis (<i>N</i> = 9), meningitis (<i>N</i> = 6), and meningoencephalomyelitis (<i>N</i> = 5), which was also associated with typical lesions in other tissues (<i>N</i> = 8). Co-infections were detected in more than half of the cases, mostly involving Cetacean Morbillivirus (CeMV). The 24 <i>B. ceti</i> isolates were assigned primarily to sequence type 26 (ST26) (<i>N</i> = 21) and, in a few cases, ST49 (<i>N</i> = 3). The multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) based on whole genome sequencing (WGS) data showed that strains from Italy clustered into four genetically distinct clades. Plotting these clades onto a geographic map suggests a link between their phylogeny and the topographical distribution. These results support the role of <i>B. ceti</i> as a primary neurotropic pathogen for striped dolphins and highlight the utility of WGS data in understanding the evolution of this emerging pathogen.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/1034<i>Brucella ceti</i>marine mammalsneuropathologycetaceansItalysequence type |
| spellingShingle | Carla Grattarola Antonio Petrella Giuseppe Lucifora Gabriella Di Francesco Fabio Di Nocera Antonio Pintore Cristiano Cocumelli Giuliana Terracciano Antonio Battisti Ludovica Di Renzo Donatella Farina Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco Maria Ines Crescio Simona Zoppi Alessandro Dondo Barbara Iulini Katia Varello Walter Mignone Maria Goria Virginia Mattioda Federica Giorda Giovanni Di Guardo Anna Janowicz Manuela Tittarelli Fabrizio De Massis Cristina Casalone Giuliano Garofolo <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data Pathogens <i>Brucella ceti</i> marine mammals neuropathology cetaceans Italy sequence type |
| title | <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data |
| title_full | <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data |
| title_fullStr | <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data |
| title_short | <i>Brucella ceti</i> Infection in Striped Dolphins from Italian Seas: Associated Lesions and Epidemiological Data |
| title_sort | i brucella ceti i infection in striped dolphins from italian seas associated lesions and epidemiological data |
| topic | <i>Brucella ceti</i> marine mammals neuropathology cetaceans Italy sequence type |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/1034 |
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