Genomic and Phenotypic Characterization of Shiga Toxin-Producing Strains Isolated from Wild Birds in a Major Agricultural Region in California. | LitMetric
Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, NE 68933, USA.
Published: November 2023
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
is an emerging foodborne pathogen. To better understand the pathogenesis and health risk of this pathogen, comparative genomics and phenotypic characterization were applied to assess the pathogenicity potential of strains isolated from wild birds in a major agricultural region in California. Shiga toxin genes were present in all avian strains. Pangenome analyses of 20 complete genomes revealed a total of 11,249 genes, of which nearly 80% were accessory genes. Both core gene-based phylogenetic and accessory gene-based relatedness analyses consistently grouped the three -positive clinical strains with the five avian strains carrying ST7971. Among the three Stx2f-converting prophage integration sites identified, was the most common one. Besides the locus of enterocyte effacement and type three secretion system, the high pathogenicity island, OI-122, and type six secretion systems were identified. Substantial strain variation in virulence gene repertoire, Shiga toxin production, and cytotoxicity were revealed. Six avian strains exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity than that of -positive , and three of them exhibited a comparable level of cytotoxicity with that of enterohemorrhagic outbreak strains, suggesting that wild birds could serve as a reservoir of strains with great potential to cause severe diseases in humans.
AbstractSenescence is ubiquitous yet highly variable among species, populations, and individuals, for reasons that are poorly understood. It is not clear how environmental conditions affect senescence, especially in the wild. We explored the influence of environment on the degree of laying date age-specific variation and reproductive success senescence in wild blue tits.
Avian influenza is not a new disease, but the emergence of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96 lineage (Gs/GD) has necessitated fundamental changes to prevention and control strategies for this disease. No longer just an avian disease, avian influenza is capable of causing severe disease in humans and is considered a potential human pandemic threat requiring One Health approaches. In addition, Gs/GD HPAI viruses have developed the capacity to be carried across and between continents by migratory birds.
H5Nx A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96 Eurasian lineage high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) viruses have been the main HPAI strains detected globally since 2005. These have spread around the world, causing a panzootic that has spanned six continents, with continual threat to not only wild and captive birds and poultry, but also wild, captive and domestic mammals and humans. The viruses' ecology and epidemiology - especially the 2.
Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution & Animal Models and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
The feralization of domestic chicken makes the conservation and management of red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) more complicated and challenging. We collected two Sulawesi feral chickens, located east of the Wallace Line, for whole-genome sequencing and de novo genome assembly. Phylogenetic and f4-statistics analyses indicated that the Sulawesi feralized domestic chickens (G.
UMR 7372, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé, La Rochelle Université & CNRS, Villiers en Bois 79360, France; LTSER "Zone Atelier Plaine & Val de Sèvre", CNRS, Villiers-en-Bois 79360, France. Electronic address:
Recent studies in humans have shown that certain pesticides could affect the composition and functions of the gut microbiota, an essential modulator of vertebrate physiology, leading to potential dysbiosis. However, this relationship remains largely unknown in wild birds despite the implications of pesticides in the current decline of farmland species. The present study sought to fill this gap by providing data on the association between pesticide concentrations in blood and gut microbiota characteristics in relation to individual traits in a farmland raptor, the Montagu's harrier (Circus pygargus).
