Sommer Andrew J, Skarlupka Joseph H, Teseo Serafino, Otani Saria, Suen Garret, Coon Kerri L, Sapountzis Panagiotis
Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2025 Jun 19;11(1):111. doi: 10.1038/s41522-025-00685-y.
Dairy farms are major reservoirs of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, which harbor antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), and raise critical questions about their dissemination on and off the farm environment. Here, we investigated the role of coprophagous muscid flies (Diptera: Muscidae) as carriers of zoonotic pathogens and antimicrobial resistance. We collected cow manure and flies on a dairy farm and used shotgun metagenomics to identify the presence of clinically relevant bacteria, virulence factors, and ARGs in both environments. Our results reveal that, although the fly microbiome is largely composed of manure-associated taxa, they also harbor specific insect-associated bacteria, which may be involved in nutrient provisioning to the host. Furthermore, we identifed shared ARGs, virulence factors, and zoonotic pathogens enriched within the fly gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Our study illustrates the potential flow of pathogenic microorganisms from manure to coprophagous flies, suggesting that flies may pose an important zoonotic threat on dairy farms.
奶牛场是动物源性细菌病原体的主要储存库，这些病原体携带抗菌抗性基因（ARGs），并引发了关于它们在农场内外环境中传播的关键问题。在此，我们调查了食粪蝇（双翅目：蝇科）作为动物源性病原体和抗菌抗性载体的作用。我们在一个奶牛场收集了牛粪和苍蝇，并使用鸟枪法宏基因组学来鉴定这两种环境中临床相关细菌、毒力因子和ARGs的存在。我们的结果表明，虽然苍蝇的微生物组主要由与粪便相关的分类群组成，但它们也含有特定的与昆虫相关的细菌，这些细菌可能参与为宿主提供营养。此外，我们在苍蝇胃肠道（GIT）中鉴定出了共享的ARGs、毒力因子和富集的动物源性病原体。我们的研究说明了致病微生物从粪便到食粪蝇的潜在传播途径，表明苍蝇可能对奶牛场构成重要的人畜共患病威胁。
