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Seru LV, Forde TL, Roberto-Charron A, Mavrot F, Niu YD, Kutz SJ. Genomic characterization and virulence gene profiling of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolated from widespread muskox mortalities in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. BMC Genomics 2024; 25:691. [PMID: 39004696 PMCID: PMC11247837 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10592-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Muskoxen are important ecosystem components and provide food, economic opportunities, and cultural well-being for Indigenous communities in the Canadian Arctic. Between 2010 and 2021, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated from carcasses of muskoxen, caribou, a seal, and an Arctic fox during multiple large scale mortality events in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. A single strain ('Arctic clone') of E. rhusiopathiae was associated with the mortalities on Banks, Victoria and Prince Patrick Islands, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada (2010-2017). The objectives of this study were to (i) characterize the genomes of E. rhusiopathiae isolates obtained from more recent muskox mortalities in the Canadian Arctic in 2019 and 2021; (ii) identify and compare common virulence traits associated with the core genome and mobile genetic elements (i.e. pathogenicity islands and prophages) among Arctic clone versus other E. rhusiopathiae genomes; and iii) use pan-genome wide association studies (GWAS) to determine unique genetic contents of the Arctic clone that may encode virulence traits and that could be used for diagnostic purposes. RESULTS Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the newly sequenced E. rhusiopathiae isolates from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (2021) also belong to the Arctic clone. Of 17 virulence genes analysed among 28 Arctic clone isolates, four genes - adhesin, rhusiopathiae surface protein-A (rspA), choline binding protein-B (cbpB) and CDP-glycerol glycerophosphotransferase (tagF) - had amino acid sequence variants unique to this clone when compared to 31 other E. rhusiopathiae genomes. These genes encode proteins that facilitate E. rhusiopathiae to attach to the host endothelial cells and form biofilms. GWAS analyses using Scoary found several unique genes to be overrepresented in the Arctic clone. CONCLUSIONS The Arctic clone of E. rhusiopathiae was associated with multiple muskox mortalities spanning over a decade and multiple Arctic islands with distances over 1000 km, highlighting the extent of its spatiotemporal spread. This clone possesses unique gene content, as well as amino acid variants in multiple virulence genes that are distinct from the other closely related E. rhusiopathiae isolates. This study establishes an essential foundation on which to investigate whether these differences are correlated with the apparent virulence of this specific clone through in vitro and in vivo studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Taya L Forde
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
| | | | - Fabien Mavrot
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Yan D Niu
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Susan J Kutz
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
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Dalton CS, Tomaselli M, Rothenburger JL, Mavrot F, Di Francesco J, Leclerc LM, Ytrehus B, Checkley S, Kutz S, Abdul-Careem MF, van der Meer F. Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Orf Virus and Muskox Rhadinovirus 1 from Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) in the Canadian Arctic. J Wildl Dis 2024; 60:461-473. [PMID: 38334201 DOI: 10.7589/jwd-d-22-00170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Orf virus (genus Parapoxvirus) has been associated with gross skin lesions on muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) from Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada, where muskox populations are experiencing population declines. Orf virus causes painful proliferative and necrotizing dermatitis upon viral replication and shedding, which may lead to animal morbidity or mortality through secondary infections and starvation. Herpesvirus, known to cause gross lesions on skin and mucosa during active viral replication, has also been documented in muskoxen but to date has not been associated with clinical disease. Our objective was to characterize the variation of orf virus and herpesvirus in wild muskoxen of the Canadian Arctic. Tissue samples including gross skin lesions from the nose, lips, and/or legs were opportunistically collected from muskoxen on Victoria Island, Nunavut and Northwest Territories, and mainland Nunavut, Canada, from 2015 to 2017. Sampled muskoxen varied in age, sex, location, hunt type, and body condition. Tissues from 60 muskoxen were tested for genetic evidence of orf virus and herpesvirus infection using PCR targeting key viral genes. Tissues from 38 muskoxen, including 15 with gross lesions, were also examined for histological evidence of orf virus and herpesvirus infection. Eleven muskoxen (10 from Victoria Island and one from mainland Nunavut) with gross lesions had microscopic lesions consistent with orf virus infection. Muskox rhadinovirus 1, a gammaherpesvirus endemic to muskoxen, was detected in 33 (55%) muskoxen including 17 with gross lesions. In all tissues examined, there was no histological evidence of herpesvirus-specific disease. Sequencing and characterization of amplified PCR products using phylogenetic analysis indicated that a strain of orf virus, which appears to be unique, is likely to be endemic in muskoxen from Victoria Island and mainland Nunavut. Many of the muskoxen are also subclinically infected with a known muskox-endemic strain of herpesvirus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chimoné Stefni Dalton
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Matilde Tomaselli
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Polar Knowledge Canada, Canadian High Arctic Research Station, 1 Uvajuq Rd., P.O. Box 2150, Cambridge Bay, Nunavut X0B 0C0, Canada
| | - Jamie L Rothenburger
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (Alberta Region), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Fabien Mavrot
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Juliette Di Francesco
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Lisa-Marie Leclerc
- Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. 377, Kugluktuk, Nunavut X0B 0E0, Canada
| | - Bjørnar Ytrehus
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7036, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sylvia Checkley
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Susan Kutz
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
- Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (Alberta Region), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Mohamed Faizal Abdul-Careem
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
| | - Frank van der Meer
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4Z6, Canada
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Nair RR, Nakazawa Y, Peterson AT. An evaluation of the ecological niche of Orf virus (Poxviridae): Challenges of distinguishing broad niches from no niches. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0293312. [PMID: 38236902 PMCID: PMC10796068 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Contagious ecthyma is a skin disease, caused by Orf virus, creating great economic threats to livestock farming worldwide. Zoonotic potential of this disease has gained recent attention owing to the re-emergence of disease in several parts of the world. Increased public health concern emphasizes the need for a predictive understanding of the geographic distributional potential of Orf virus. Here, we mapped the current distribution using occurrence records, and estimated the ecological niche in both geographical and environmental spaces. Twenty modeling experiments, resulting from two- and three-partition models, were performed to choose the candidate models that best represent the geographic distributional potential of Orf virus. For all of our models, it was possible to reject the null hypothesis of predictive performance no better than random expectations. However, statistical significance must be accompanied by sufficiently good predictive performance if a model is to be useful. In our case, omission of known distribution of the virus was noticed in all Maxent models, indicating inferior quality of our models. This conclusion was further confirmed by the independent final evaluation, using occurrence records sourced from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International. Minimum volume ellipsoid (MVE) models indicated the broad range of environmental conditions under which Orf virus infections are found. The excluded climatic conditions from MVEs could not be considered as unsuitable owing to the broad distribution of Orf virus. These results suggest two possibilities: that the niche models fail to identify niche limits that constrain the virus, or that the virus has no detectable niche, as it can be found throughout the geographic distributions of its hosts. This potential limitation of component-based pathogen-only ENMs is discussed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul Raveendran Nair
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
| | - Yoshinori Nakazawa
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - A. Townsend Peterson
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
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