A Perspective on the Potential Zoonotic Role of Streptococcus agalactiae: Searching for a Missing Link in Alternative Transmission Routes

Botelho, Ana Caroline N.; Ferreira, Ana Flávia Martinho; Fracalanzza, Sérgio Eduardo Longo; Teixeira, Lúcia Martins; Pinto, Tatiana Castro Abreu

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2018.00608

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…We show that these different CCs are characterised by different gene sets belonging to functional families involved in niche adaptation and virulence. We suggest that each human-associated CC has maintained these genes following zoonotic transfer [Botelho, et al, 2018]. This is in hypervirulence have also been identified in this analysis including the Pi-IIb locus [Périchon et al, 2017], part of which is represented by the CC17-associated genes gcc1732, lepB, inlA_2, gcc1733 (Table S3), supporting the validity of this analysis.…”

Section: S Agalactiae Isolated From Human and Animal Sources Is Charsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Having escaped the animal niche, they were then able evade the human immune system and establish successful colonisation (Figure 4). Recently, the "missing link" between animal and human adaptation of GBS was described to be CC103 [Botelho et al, 2018]. However, we have identified animal isolates belonging to human-associated CCs (e.g.…”

Section: S Agalactiae Isolated From Human and Animal Sources Is Charmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae highlights lineage-specific genes associated with virulence and niche adaptation

Gori

Harrison

Mlia

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B streptococcus, GBS) is a coloniser of the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts in adults, and an opportunistic pathogen of infants and adults. The worldwide population of GBS is characterised by a series of Clonal Complexes (CCs) with different invasive potentials. CC17 for example is commonly associated with neonatal sepsis and meningitis, while CC1 often causes invasive disease in adults with co-morbidities. The genetic basis of GBS virulence and to what extent different CCs have adapted to different host environments remain uncertain. We have therefore applied a pan-genome wide association study approach to 1988 GBS strains isolated from different hosts and countries, to identify the genes responsible for the phenotypic differences between clonal complexes.Our results show 279 CC-specific genes belonging to metabolic pathways that appear to explain the differential virulence potential of particular CCs, including CC17. Moreover, our analysis leads us to suggest that human-associated GBS CCs have largely evolved in animal hosts before crossing to the human host and then spreading clonally.

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Section: S Agalactiae Isolated From Human and Animal Sources Is Charsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: S Agalactiae Isolated From Human and Animal Sources Is Charmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae highlights lineage-specific genes associated with virulence and niche adaptation

Gori

Harrison

Mlia

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…GBS is widely thought to be a zoonosis (57)(58)(59)(60)(61). Based on the nature and the distribution of CC-characterizing genes, and their location in the GBS genome, we hypothesize that S. agalactiae lineages that colonize humans may have initially evolved in animals and then subsequently expanded clonally in humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having escaped the animal niche, they were then able to evade the human immune system and establish successful colonization. Recently, the “missing link” between animal and human adaptation of GBS was described to be CC103 ( 57 ). However, we have identified animal isolates belonging to human-associated CCs (e.g., CC17 and CC23) which, in the case of the CC23 strains, cluster together with human clinical isolates in the GBS population structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae Highlights Lineage-Specific Genes Associated with Virulence and Niche Adaptation

Gori

Harrison

Mlia

et al. 2020

mBio

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Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus; GBS) is a colonizer of the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts, and an opportunistic pathogen of infants and adults. The worldwide population of GBS is characterized by clonal complexes (CCs) with different invasive potentials. CC17, for example, is a hypervirulent lineage commonly associated with neonatal sepsis and meningitis, while CC1 is less invasive in neonates and more commonly causes invasive disease in adults with comorbidities. The genetic basis of GBS virulence and the extent to which different CCs have adapted to different host environments remain uncertain. We have therefore applied a pan-genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach to 1,988 GBS strains isolated from different hosts and countries. Our analysis identified 279 CC-specific genes associated with virulence, disease, metabolism, and regulation of cellular mechanisms that may explain the differential virulence potential of particular CCs. In CC17 and CC23, for example, we have identified genes encoding pilus, quorum-sensing proteins, and proteins for the uptake of ions and micronutrients which are absent in less invasive lineages. Moreover, in CC17, carriage and disease strains were distinguished by the allelic variants of 21 of these CC-specific genes. Together our data highlight the lineage-specific basis of GBS niche adaptation and virulence. IMPORTANCE GBS is a leading cause of mortality in newborn babies in high- and low-income countries worldwide. Different strains of GBS are characterized by different degrees of virulence, where some are harmlessly carried by humans or animals and others are much more likely to cause disease. The genome sequences of almost 2,000 GBS samples isolated from both animals and humans in high- and low- income countries were analyzed using a pan-genome-wide association study approach. This allowed us to identify 279 genes which are associated with different lineages of GBS, characterized by a different virulence and preferred host. Additionally, we propose that the GBS now carried in humans may have first evolved in animals before expanding clonally once adapted to the human host. These findings are essential to help understand what is causing GBS disease and how the bacteria have evolved and are transmitted.

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“…One of the ways to prevent contamination of milk is to prevent the presence of soil into silage, and proper conservation and storage of silage (Driehuis et al, 2018). As many of the pathogens in milk can cause mastitis in sheep, mastitis should be considered as a zoonotic risk (Abebe et al, 2016;Botelho et al, 2018). Therefore, mastitis prevention measures are to a large extent also measures to prevent zoonotic infections through consumption of milk with pathogens.…”

Section: Preventing Animal Infection Product Contamination and Bactementioning

confidence: 99%

Zoonotic risks of pathogens from sheep and their milk borne transmission

Brom

Jong

Engelen

et al. 2020

Small Ruminant Research

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Sheep were domesticated around 9000 BC in the Middle East, and since then milk from sheep gradually became very popular, not only for drinking but also for making cheeses and other dairy products. Nowadays, these dairy products are also important for people with an allergy to cow milk, and these products are an essential part of the local daily diet in regions of the world that are not suitable for cows and goats. Consumption of raw milk and raw milk products has a zoonotic risk, and with regard to sheep, the main pathogens associated with such dairy products are: Brucella melitensis, Campylobacter spp., Listeria spp., Salmonella spp., Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, tick borne encephalitis virus, and Toxoplasma gondii. Especially, young children, elderly people, pregnant women and immunocompromised (YOPI) persons, and those suffering from disease should be aware of the risk of consuming raw milk and raw milk products. This latter risk can be reduced by proper flock health management, prevention of contamination during milking, adequate milk processing, transport, and refrigerated storage. Only processes equaling pasteurization sufficiently reduce zoonotic risks from milk and milk products, but proper cooling is essential and recontamination must be prevented. Therefore, strict hygiene practices throughout the production process and supply chain especially for raw milk and raw dairy products, should be applied. Small scale production systems pose a greater risk compared to industrialized production systems because of a less protocolized and controlled production process. This manuscript describes zoonotic risks of pathogens from sheep and their milk borne transmission. Additionally, routes of contamination, possibilities for multiplication, and prevention measures thereof are described. We summarize some major human outbreaks caused by consumption of sheep milk and products made thereof, and finally discuss their implications.

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A Perspective on the Potential Zoonotic Role of Streptococcus agalactiae: Searching for a Missing Link in Alternative Transmission Routes

Cited by 27 publications

References 35 publications

Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae highlights lineage-specific genes associated with virulence and niche adaptation

Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae highlights lineage-specific genes associated with virulence and niche adaptation

Pan-GWAS of Streptococcus agalactiae Highlights Lineage-Specific Genes Associated with Virulence and Niche Adaptation

Zoonotic risks of pathogens from sheep and their milk borne transmission

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