<i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>)
The Eurasian beaver (<i>Castor fiber)</i> has been reintroduced successfully in Germany since the 1990s. Since wildlife is an important source of zoonotic infectious diseases, monitoring of invasive and reintroduced species is crucial with respect to the One Health approach. Three Eurasi...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/979 |
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| author | Reinhard Sting Catharina Pölzelbauer Tobias Eisenberg Rebecca Bonke Birgit Blazey Martin Peters Karin Riße Andreas Sing Anja Berger Alexandra Dangel Jörg Rau |
| author_facet | Reinhard Sting Catharina Pölzelbauer Tobias Eisenberg Rebecca Bonke Birgit Blazey Martin Peters Karin Riße Andreas Sing Anja Berger Alexandra Dangel Jörg Rau |
| author_sort | Reinhard Sting |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Eurasian beaver (<i>Castor fiber)</i> has been reintroduced successfully in Germany since the 1990s. Since wildlife is an important source of zoonotic infectious diseases, monitoring of invasive and reintroduced species is crucial with respect to the One Health approach. Three Eurasian beavers were found dead in the German federal states of Bavaria, North Rhine–Westphalia and Baden–Wuerttemberg in 2015, 2021 and 2022, respectively. During post-mortem examinations, <i>Corynebacterium</i> (<i>C.</i>) <i>ulcerans</i> could be isolated from the abscesses of two beavers and from the lungs of one of the animals. Identification of the bacterial isolates at the species level was carried out by spectroscopic analysis using MALDI-TOF MS, FT-IR and biochemical profiles and were verified by molecular analysis based on 16-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequencing. Molecular characterization of the <i>C. ulcerans</i> isolates using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed a genome size of about 2.5 Mbp and a GC content of 53.4%. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis classified all three isolates as the sequence type ST-332. A minimum spanning tree (MST) based on cgMLST allelic profiles, including 1211 core genes of the sequenced <i>C. ulcerans</i> isolates, showed that the beaver-derived isolates clearly group on the branch of <i>C. ulcerans</i> with the closest relationship to each other, in close similarity to an isolate from a dog. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed resistance to clindamycin and, in one strain, to erythromycin according to EUCAST, while all isolates were susceptible to the other antimicrobials tested. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:41:00Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:41:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-e939ce9f560842dd91b58fff953354752023-11-19T02:31:40ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172023-07-0112897910.3390/pathogens12080979<i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>)Reinhard Sting0Catharina Pölzelbauer1Tobias Eisenberg2Rebecca Bonke3Birgit Blazey4Martin Peters5Karin Riße6Andreas Sing7Anja Berger8Alexandra Dangel9Jörg Rau10Chemical and Veterinary Analysis Agency (CVUA) Stuttgart, 70736 Fellbach, GermanyChemical and Veterinary Analysis Agency (CVUA) Stuttgart, 70736 Fellbach, GermanyHessian State Laboratory (LHL), 35392 Giessen, GermanyHessian State Laboratory (LHL), 35392 Giessen, GermanyChemical and Veterinary Analysis Agency (CVUA) Stuttgart, 70736 Fellbach, GermanyChemical and Veterinary Investigation Office Westfalen, 59821 Arnsberg, GermanyHessian State Laboratory (LHL), 35392 Giessen, GermanyGermany National Consiliary Laboratory for Diphtheria, 85764 Oberschleißheim, GermanyGermany National Consiliary Laboratory for Diphtheria, 85764 Oberschleißheim, GermanyBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 85764 Oberschleißheim, GermanyChemical and Veterinary Analysis Agency (CVUA) Stuttgart, 70736 Fellbach, GermanyThe Eurasian beaver (<i>Castor fiber)</i> has been reintroduced successfully in Germany since the 1990s. Since wildlife is an important source of zoonotic infectious diseases, monitoring of invasive and reintroduced species is crucial with respect to the One Health approach. Three Eurasian beavers were found dead in the German federal states of Bavaria, North Rhine–Westphalia and Baden–Wuerttemberg in 2015, 2021 and 2022, respectively. During post-mortem examinations, <i>Corynebacterium</i> (<i>C.</i>) <i>ulcerans</i> could be isolated from the abscesses of two beavers and from the lungs of one of the animals. Identification of the bacterial isolates at the species level was carried out by spectroscopic analysis using MALDI-TOF MS, FT-IR and biochemical profiles and were verified by molecular analysis based on 16-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequencing. Molecular characterization of the <i>C. ulcerans</i> isolates using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) revealed a genome size of about 2.5 Mbp and a GC content of 53.4%. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis classified all three isolates as the sequence type ST-332. A minimum spanning tree (MST) based on cgMLST allelic profiles, including 1211 core genes of the sequenced <i>C. ulcerans</i> isolates, showed that the beaver-derived isolates clearly group on the branch of <i>C. ulcerans</i> with the closest relationship to each other, in close similarity to an isolate from a dog. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed resistance to clindamycin and, in one strain, to erythromycin according to EUCAST, while all isolates were susceptible to the other antimicrobials tested.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/979<i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i>diphtheriazoonosisabscess<i>Streptococcus castoreus</i>16-23S ITS |
| spellingShingle | Reinhard Sting Catharina Pölzelbauer Tobias Eisenberg Rebecca Bonke Birgit Blazey Martin Peters Karin Riße Andreas Sing Anja Berger Alexandra Dangel Jörg Rau <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) Pathogens <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> diphtheria zoonosis abscess <i>Streptococcus castoreus</i> 16-23S ITS |
| title | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) |
| title_full | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) |
| title_fullStr | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) |
| title_short | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> Infections in Eurasian Beavers (<i>Castor fiber</i>) |
| title_sort | i corynebacterium ulcerans i infections in eurasian beavers i castor fiber i |
| topic | <i>Corynebacterium ulcerans</i> diphtheria zoonosis abscess <i>Streptococcus castoreus</i> 16-23S ITS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/12/8/979 |
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