Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, Bern 3012, Switzerland.
Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, Bern 3012, Switzerland.
Vet Microbiol. 2024 Sep;296:110184. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2024.110184. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
Zebu cattle (Bos indicus) is reported to be more resistant towards harmful environmental factors than taurine cattle (Bos taurus). A few hundred zebu cattle are kept in Switzerland and in contrast to the Swiss indigenous breeds, infectious hoof disease in zebu is not observed. Therefore, we compared the prevalence of three ruminant hoof pathogens in zebu and taurine cattle. These included Treponema spp., Fusobacterium necrophorum and Dichelobacter nodosus which are associated with bovine digital dermatitis (BDD), different bovine hoof diseases and ovine footrot, respectively. Interdigital swabs and punch biopsies from hind feet of slaughter animals were tested for the three pathogens by PCR. Sixty zebu from eight farms were compared to a convenience sample of 20 taurine cattle from 17 farms. Treponema spp. associated with BDD were not detected in zebu while 23 % of animals and 50 % of farms were positive for benign D. nodosus, with results indicating environmental contamination rather than colonization. Taurine cattle showed 35 % of animals and 41 % of farms positive for T. phagedenis while 90 % of animals and 94 % of farms were colonized by D. nodosus as indicated by a 500-fold higher bacterial load than in zebu. The difference in prevalence of the two pathogens between zebu and taurine cattle was highly significant. F. necrophorum was as well only detected in taurine cattle with values of 15 % of animals and 17.7 % of farms, being significantly different at the animal level. Furthermore, genetic analysis of Swiss zebu indicates high genomic diversity and clear separation from taurine cattle. This is the first evidence that zebu show resistance towards colonization by bacterial hoof pathogens in contrast to taurine cattle.
报道称，瘤牛（Bos indicus）比黄牛（Bos taurus）更能抵抗有害的环境因素。瑞士境内饲养了几百头瘤牛，与瑞士本土品种不同的是，并未观察到传染性蹄病。因此，我们比较了瘤牛和黄牛中三种反刍动物蹄病原体的流行情况。这些病原体包括与牛传染性趾间皮炎（BDD）、不同的牛蹄病和绵羊腐蹄病相关的密螺旋体属、坏死梭杆菌和溶纤维丁酸弧菌。通过 PCR 检测屠宰动物后脚的趾间拭子和打孔活检样本中这三种病原体的存在情况。比较了来自 8 个农场的 60 头瘤牛和来自 17 个农场的 20 头黄牛的样本。在瘤牛中未检测到与 BDD 相关的密螺旋体属，而良性溶纤维丁酸弧菌的阳性动物比例为 23%，阳性农场比例为 50%，结果表明存在环境污染而非定植。黄牛中 T. phagedenis 的阳性动物比例和阳性农场比例分别为 35%和 41%，而 D. nodosus 的阳性动物比例和阳性农场比例分别为 90%和 94%，其细菌载量比瘤牛高 500 倍。瘤牛和黄牛中这两种病原体的流行率差异具有统计学意义。坏死梭杆菌也仅在黄牛中检测到，阳性动物比例和阳性农场比例分别为 15%和 17.7%，在动物水平上差异显著。此外，瑞士瘤牛的遗传分析表明其具有高度的基因组多样性，并与黄牛明显分离。这是首次证明瘤牛对细菌性蹄病原体的定植具有抵抗力，与黄牛不同。
