Isolation and Phylogenetic Characterization of Streptococcus halichoeri from a European Badger (Meles meles) with Pyogranulomatous Pleuropneumonia

Abstract

Clinical and pathological studies in European badgers (Meles meles) are limited. Badgers play a significant role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in some countries and an accurate diagnosis is needed for this infection. However, the lesions of bovine TB are similar to those associated with other pathogens, making pathological diagnosis difficult. In the present study, Streptococcus halichoeri was isolated from a European badger with pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia and suspected of having tuberculosis. TB and other pathogens able to induce similar lesions were ruled out. Comparative 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing studies showed an identity of 99.51% and 98.28%, respectively, with S. halichoeri. This report represents the third description of this bacterium and the first in an animal species other than the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). It also shows that S. halichoeri can be associated with a pathological process characterized by granulomatous inflammation and resembling tuberculosis.

Phenotypic, Genotypic, and Antimicrobial Characteristics of Streptococcus halichoeri Isolates from Humans, Proposal To Rename Streptococcus halichoeri as Streptococcus halichoeri subsp. halichoeri, and Description of Streptococcus halichoeri subsp. hominis subsp. nov., a Bacterium Associated with Human Clinical Infections

“…That study did not provide all the biochemical data or 16S rRNA gene sequence in order to make a determination of which subspecies the isolate represented. In addition, a recently described isolate from a badger was more closely related to the gray seal isolates than to the human isolates based on comparative 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequence analysis (3).…”

“…An additional human isolate from Sweden was obtained from the Culture Collection, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (CCUG). More recently, in 2014, S. halichoeri was isolated from a 45-year-old male with empyema (2), and in 2015, a case study of S. halichoeri from a European badger with pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia was described (3). The goal of this study was to evaluate the taxonomic status of S. halichoeri isolates associated with a human clinical source and analyze genetic and phenotypic differences for identification and potential differences in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.…”

Infectious Cellulitis Caused by Streptococcus halichoeri

“…S. halichoeri was first reported in 2004 from UK veterinary laboratories in wounds in seals (8)(9)(10)(11). In 2014 Foo & Chan (12) reported the first case of human infection caused by this bacterium in a 45-year-old Chinese male from Singapore who had a postoperative empyema.…”

Evolution of MHC class I genes in Eurasian badgers, genus Meles (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

“…In turn, positive selection shaping and maintaining polymorphisms in ABS can lead to a wide range of antigen peptides in any given species or population, and may increase the chance of survival against pathogenic and parasitic infections (Hughes and Nei 1992;Hughes and Yeager 1998). Therefore, considering species/region-specific as well as common pathogens (Hancox 1980;Harasawa et al 2014;Moreno et al 2015;Hornok et al 2017), we hypothesize that, in the continental population, the α2 domain plays a crucial role in recognizing pathogens that are unfamiliar or novel to the UK population in M. meles, and that not only α1 but also α2 domain is important for pathogen recognition in the other three Meles species.…”

“…These two badger species with a higher level of diversity have effective numbers of females six times greater than that of the Asian badger (Marmi et al 2006). All four Meles species seem to have evolved under diverse pathogenic pressures, and some pathogens are species/region-specific in these species (Hancox 1980;Harasawa et al 2014;Moreno et al 2015;Hornok et al 2017). A related finding is that MHCI genes in the European badger have been associated with the prevalence and/ or intensity of certain pathogens (Sin et al 2014).…”