Streptococcus caledonicus sp. nov., isolated from sheep

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Streptococcus ovis infection in Tibet, China

Sheep septicemic streptococcosis is an acute, febrile, and septic zoonotic disease caused by Streptococcus ovis. There are few reports of this disease especailly at high-altitude areas of Tibet, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted at five different counties of Shigatse area (a city in Tibet territory) from 2021 to 2022. Sera from 1458 randomly selected sheep and goats from 50 flocks were tested for antigens of Streptococcus ovis using a commercial ELISA kit. The individual animal level prevalence was 6.93% (95% CI: 5.7-8.4), and the flock prevalence level was 84% (95% CI: 70.9-92.8). At the individual animal level, year and management type were significantly associated with seropositivity by binary logistic regression analysis. Prevalence of Streptococcus in 2021 significantly differed from 2022 (OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.39-3.39). The prevalence of Streptococcus varied between management types with herds having higher odds of disease than intensive farms (OR = 2.64, 95% CI: 1.71-4.10). Hence, our study reports for the first time on seroepidemiology and risk factors of Streptococcus ovis infection, laying a theoretical foundation for preventing and controlling streptococcosis in Tibet area.

An Update on Novel Taxa and Revised Taxonomic Status of Bacteria Isolated from Domestic Animals Described in 2018 to 2021

Novel bacterial taxonomy and nomenclature revisions can have significant impacts on clinical practice, disease epidemiology, and veterinary microbiology laboratory operations. Expansion of research on the microbiota of humans, animals, and insects has significant potential impacts on the taxonomy of organisms of clinical interest. Implications of taxonomic changes may be especially important when considering zoonotic diseases. Here, we address novel taxonomy and nomenclature revisions of veterinary significance. Noteworthy discussion centers around descriptions of novel mastitis pathogens in Streptococcaceae, Staphylococcaceae, and Actinomycetaceae; bovine reproductive tract pathogens in Corynebacteriaceae; novel members of Mannheimia spp., Leptospira spp., and Mycobacterium spp.; the transfer of Ochrobactrum spp. to Brucella spp.; and revisions to the genus Mycoplasma.

An Insight into Goat Cheese: The Tales of Artisanal and Industrial Gidotyri Microbiota

The purpose of this study was to determine for the first time the microbiota in artisanal-type and industrial-type Gidotyri cheeses and investigate the influence of the cheese-making practices on their composition using culture-independent techniques. The microbiota present in artisanal with commercial starters (Artisanal_CS, n = 15), artisanal with in-house starters (Artisanal_IHS, n = 10) and industrial (Ind., n = 9) Gidotyri cheese samples were analyzed using a targeted metagenomic approach (16S rRNA gene). The Ind. Gidotyri cheese microbiota were less complex, dominated by the Streptococcaceae family (91%) that was more abundant compared to the artisanal Gidotyri cheeses (p < 0.05). Artisanal cheeses were more diverse compositionally with specific bacterial species being prevalent to each subtype. Particularly, Loigolactobacillus coryniformis (OTU 175), Secundilactobacillus malefermentans (OTU 48), and Streptococcus parauberis (OTU 50) were more prevalent in Artisanal_IHS cheeses compared to Artisanal_CS (p ≤ 0.001) and Ind. (p < 0.01) Gidotyri cheeses. Carnobacterium maltaromaticum (OTU 23) and Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. hoffmannii (OTU 268) were more prevalent in Artisanal_CS cheeses compared to Artisanal_IHS cheeses (p < 0.05) and Ind. cheeses (p < 0.05). Hafnia alvei (OTU 13) and Acinetobacter colistiniresistens (OTU 111) tended to be more prevalent in Artisanal_CS compared to the other two cheese groups (p < 0.10). In conclusion, higher microbial diversity was observed in the artisanal-type Gidotyri cheeses, with possible bacterial markers specific to each subtype identified with potential application to traceability of the manufacturing processes’ authenticity and cheese quality.

Notification List of Bacterial Strains Made Available by the United Kingdom National Collection of Type Cultures in 2021

Here, we report on the 47 bacterial strains made available by the National Collection of Type Cultures in 2021, alongside a commentary on these strains and their significance.