title: Emergence of atypical Mycoplasma agalactiae strains harboring a new prophage and associated with an alpine wild ungulate mortality episode.
abstract: The bacterium Mycoplasma agalactiae is responsible for contagious agalactia (CA) in small domestic ruminants, a syndrome listed by the World Organization for Animal Health and responsible for severe damage to the dairy industry. Recently, we frequently isolated this pathogen from lung lesions of ibexes during a mortality episode in the French Alps. This situation was unusual in terms of host specificity and tissue tropism, raising the question of M. agalactiae emergence in wildlife. To address this issue, the ibex isolates were characterized using a combination of approaches that included antigenic profiles, molecular typing, optical mapping, and whole-genome sequencing. Genome analyses showed the presence of a new, large prophage containing 35 coding sequences (CDS) that was detected in most but not all ibex strains and has a homolog in Mycoplasma conjunctivae, a species causing keratoconjunctivitis in wild ungulates. This and the presence in all strains of large integrated conjugative elements suggested highly dynamic genomes. Nevertheless, M. agalactiae strains circulating in the ibex population were shown to be highly related, most likely originating from a single parental clone that has also spread to another wild ungulate species of the same geographical area, the chamois. These strains clearly differ from strains described in Europe so far, including those found nearby, before CA eradication a few years ago. While M. agalactiae pathogenicity in ibexes remains unclear, our data showed the emergence of atypical strains in Alpine wild ungulates, raising the question of a role for the wild fauna as a potential reservoir of pathogenic mycoplasmas.
authors.affiliation: Anses, Laboratoire de Lyon, UMR Mycoplasmoses des Ruminants, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tardy
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baranowski
authors.forename: Laurent-Xavier
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Nouvel
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mick
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manso-Silvàn
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thiaucourt
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thébault
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breton
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sirand-Pugnet
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garnier
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gibert
authors.forename: Yvette
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Game
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poumarat
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Citti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005602:France; D006041:Goats / Q000382:microbiology*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D045644:Mycoplasma agalactiae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000821:virology*; D039002:Prophages / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D048608:Rupicapra / Q000382:microbiology