title: Evidence of Brucella strain ST27 in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in Europe.
abstract: Marine mammal brucellosis has been known for more than 20 years, but recent work suggests it is more widespread than originally thought. Brucella (B.) pinnipedialis has been isolated from pinnipeds, while B. ceti strains have been associated with cetaceans. Here we report a Brucella strain isolated from multiple lymph nodes of one bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) during routine examination of dolphin carcasses found in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea during the summer of 2015. Classical bacteriological biotyping, PCR-based techniques (single, multiplex, PCR-RFLP) and 16S rRNA DNA sequencing were used to identify Brucella spp. Multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis of 16 loci and multilocus sequence typing of 9 loci were used for genotyping and species determination. The combination of bacteriological, molecular and genotyping techniques identified our strain as ST27, previously identified as a human pathogen. This report provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence of ST27 in the Adriatic Sea in particular and in European waters in general. The zoonotic nature of the strain and its presence in the Adriatic, which is inhabited by bottlenose dolphins, suggest that the strain may pose a significant threat to human health.
authors.affiliation: Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Savska Street 143, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Željko
authors.initials: Ž
authors.lastname: Cvetnić
authors.affiliation: Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Savska Street 143, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duvnjak
authors.affiliation: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Heinzelova Street 55, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Đuras
authors.affiliation: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Biology, Heinzelova Street 55, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Tomislav
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gomerčić
authors.affiliation: Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Savska Street 143, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Reil
authors.affiliation: Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Savska Street 143, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zdelar-Tuk
authors.affiliation: Croatian Veterinary Institute, Department of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Laboratory for Bacterial Zoonosis and Molecular Diagnostics of Bacterial Diseases, Savska Street 143, Zagreb, Croatia. Electronic address: spicic@veinst.hr.
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Špičić
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000382:microbiology*; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D008297:Male; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics; D009659:North Sea / Q000453:epidemiology; D010641:Phenotype; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Adriatic Sea; Bottlenose dolphin; Brucellosis; ST27; Zoonosis