Joint Research Unit IRTA-UAB in Animal Health, Animal Health Research Centre (CReSA), Campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain.
IRTA, Animal Health Program, Animal Health Research Centre (CReSA), Campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain.
Microbiol Spectr. 2022 Aug 31;10(4):e0118522. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.01185-22. Epub 2022 Jul 20.
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is the causative agent of pleuropneumonia in pigs, one of the most relevant bacterial respiratory diseases in the swine industry. To date, 19 serotypes have been described based on capsular polysaccharide typing with significant virulence dissimilarities. In this study, 16 APP isolates from Spanish origin were selected to perform antimicrobial susceptibility tests and comparative genomic analysis using whole genome sequencing (WGS). To obtain a more comprehensive worldwide molecular epidemiologic analyses, all APP whole genome assemblies available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the time of the study were also included. An in-house PCR approach enabled the correct serotyping of unserotyped or incorrectly serotyped isolates and allowed for the discrimination between serotypes 9 and 11. A pangenome analysis identified the presence or absence of gene clusters to be serotype specific, as well as virulence profile analyses targeting the operons. Antimicrobial resistance genes were correlated to the presence of specific plasmids. Altogether, this study provides new insights into the genetic variability within APP serotypes, correlates phenotypic tests with bioinformatic analyses and manifests the benefits of populated databases for a better assessment of diversity and variability of relatively unknown pathogens. Overall, genomic comparative analysis enhances the understanding of transmission and epidemiological patterns of this species and suggests vertical transmission of the pathogen, including the resistance genes, within the Spanish integrated systems. Pleuropneumonia is one of the most relevant respiratory infections in the swine industry. Despite Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) being one of the most important pathogens in the pig production, this is the first comparative study including all available whole genome sequencing data from NCBI. Moreover, this study also includes 16 APP isolates of Spanish origin with known epidemiological relationships through vertical integrated systems. Genomic comparisons provided a deeper understanding of molecular and epidemiological knowledge between different APP serotypes. Furthermore, determination of resistance and toxin profiles allowed correlation with the presence of mobile genetic elements and specific serotype, respectively.
胸膜肺炎放线杆菌（APP）是引起猪传染性胸膜肺炎的病原体，是猪呼吸道疾病中最重要的细菌性疾病之一。迄今为止，已经根据荚膜多糖分型描述了 19 种血清型，这些血清型具有显著的毒力差异。在本研究中，选择了 16 株来自西班牙的 APP 分离株进行抗菌药物敏感性试验和比较基因组分析，使用全基因组测序（WGS）。为了获得更全面的全球分子流行病学分析，还包括了在研究时国家生物技术信息中心（NCBI）中可获得的所有 APP 全基因组组装。一种内部 PCR 方法可正确对未定型或定型错误的分离株进行血清定型，并可区分血清型 9 和 11。泛基因组分析确定了特定血清型特有的基因簇的存在或不存在，以及针对 operons 的毒力特征分析。抗菌药物耐药基因与特定质粒的存在相关。总的来说，这项研究提供了 APP 血清型内遗传变异的新见解，将表型试验与生物信息学分析相关联，并展示了填充数据库对更好地评估相对未知病原体的多样性和变异性的好处。总体而言，基因组比较分析增强了对该物种传播和流行病学模式的理解，并表明病原体包括耐药基因在内的垂直传播在西班牙综合系统中存在。胸膜肺炎是猪业中最重要的呼吸道感染之一。尽管胸膜肺炎放线杆菌（APP）是猪生产中最重要的病原体之一，但这是首次包括来自 NCBI 的所有全基因组测序数据的比较研究。此外，这项研究还包括了 16 株来自西班牙的 APP 分离株，这些分离株通过垂直整合系统具有已知的流行病学关系。基因组比较提供了对不同 APP 血清型之间分子和流行病学知识的更深入理解。此外，耐药性和毒素谱的确定允许分别与移动遗传元件和特定血清型的存在相关联。
