Experimentally induced diseaseErysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Isolates Recovered from Fish, a Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina) and the Marine Environment are Capable of Inducing Characteristic Cutaneous Lesions in Pigs
Introduction
Erysipelothrix spp. are facultative gram-positive slender rods with worldwide distribution. The main host for Erysipelothrix spp. is the pig (Wang et al., 2010) and this bacterium continues to have a major economic impact for pig production systems worldwide. Three clinical presentations are recognized in pigs: the acute form characterized by sudden illness/death and often by rhomboid or diamond-shaped skin lesions, the subacute form that is typically less severe than the acute form and sometimes subclinical, and the chronic form characterized by vegetative endocarditis and arthritis (Grieco and Sheldon, 1970).
Much work has been conducted to characterize Erysipelothrix spp. at the genetic and antigenic levels. The genus Erysipelothrix can be subdivided into two major species: Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (Skerman et al., 1980) and Erysipelothrix tonsillarum (Takahashi et al., 1987a). In addition, there are other strains that constitute one or more additional species currently known as Erysipelothrix species 1 (Takahashi et al., 1992, 2008), Erysipelothrix species 2 (Takahashi et al., 1992, 2008), Erysipelothrix inopinata (Verbarg et al., 2004), and Erysipelothrix species 3 (Takahashi et al., 2008).
Furthermore, Erysipelothrix spp. can be divided into at least 28 known serotypes. E. rhusiopathiae includes serotypes 1a, 1b, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 (a majority of strains), 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21 and N; E. tonsillarum contains serotypes 3, 7 (a majority of strains), 10 (a majority of strains), 14, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26; Erysipelothrix sp. 1 contains serotype 13; Erysipelothrix sp. 2 contains serotype 18 and few strains of serotypes 9 and 10; Erysipelothrix sp. 3 contains some strains of serotype 7; and E. inopinata has not been characterized serologically (Takahashi et al., 1987b, 1992, 2008; Verbarg et al., 2004).
In 1998, a surface protective antigen (spa) gene was identified in Erysipelothrix spp. and found to express SpaA protein (Makino et al., 1998). In 2007, Spa proteins were further classified into three main types, SpaA, SpaB and SpaC (To and Nagai, 2007) and in 2010 two distinguishable clusters of spaB, spaB1 and spaB2 were identified (Shen et al., 2010). To date, the Spa antigen is one of the best characterized surface proteins of Erysipelothrix spp. and is associated with protection against clinical disease (Ingebritson et al., 2010; To et al., 2010).
Besides its importance for pigs, Erysipelothrix spp. is also capable of infecting a variety of birds, fish and shellfish (Veraldi et al., 2009). In marine fish, Erysipelothrix spp. cause no recognizable disease, but they can survive for extended periods of time on the mucoid exterior slime of fish (Wood, 1975). To date, little is known about the genetic and antigenic properties and pathogenicity of these marine Erysipelothrix spp. isolates. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity and pathogenicity of Erysipelothrix spp. isolates recovered from marine fish, a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and marine environmental samples by genotyping, serotyping, determination of the spa type and by testing the isolates in a bioassay in pigs.
Section snippets
Erysipelothrix spp. Isolates
The 14 Erysipelothrix spp. isolates utilized in this study are summarized in Table 1. All of the isolates were recovered between 1995 and 2004 from the surface of feed fish (capelin, small herring, large herring, fresh caught as batches of a single species, subsequently frozen, thawed and then used as a food source in an aquarium), from swabs of buckets containing feed fish or from swabs taken twice (10 months apart) from the gingival surface of a captive harbour seal with no clinical sign of
Characterization of Erysipelothrix spp. Strains
The results obtained with the Erysipelothrix genotype-specific multiplex real-time PCR indicated that all of the isolates used in this study were E. rhusiopathiae (Table 1). The following serotypes were identified in the isolates: serotype 2 (n = 3), serotype 3 (n = 1), serotype 4 (n = 1), serotype 12 (n = 1), serotype 15 (n = 1), serotype 21 (n = 6) and one isolate cross reacted with serotypes 5 and 21 (Table 1). The spa types determined are summarized in Table 1. Of the 14 isolates, 9/14 were
Discussion
In this study, 14 Erysipelothrix spp. isolates of marine origin were characterized genetically, antigenically and for their pathogenicity in a pig skin injection model. The isolates from fish, a harbour seal and the marine environment were found to be genetically diverse and 10 of 14 were capable of inducing cutaneous lesions in pigs.
The diversity of the isolates was confirmed by comparison of genotypes, serotypes and expected spa types. The serotype 3 isolate used in this study, recovered from
Conflict of Interest Statement
None of the authors of this paper has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.
Acknowledgments
We thank M. Boogerd for assistance with the animal work, Dr. D. Madson for assistance with the microscopical images and the trainers and technicians of John G. Shedd Aquarium for the procurement of samples.
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