Genetic Structure of Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae Informs Pathogen Spillover Dynamics Between Domestic and Wild Caprinae in the Western United States

Authors

Pauline L. Kamath, University of Maine
Kezia Manlove, Utah State UniversityFollow
E. Frances Cassirer, Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Paul C. Cross, U.S. Geological Survey
Thomas E. Besser, Washington State University

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Scientific Reports

Volume

9

Publisher

Nature Publishing Group

Publication Date

10-25-2019

First Page

1

Last Page

14

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Spillover diseases have significant consequences for human and animal health, as well as wildlife conservation. We examined spillover and transmission of the pneumonia-associated bacterium Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in domestic sheep, domestic goats, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats across the western United States using 594 isolates, collected from 1984 to 2017. Our results indicate high genetic diversity of M. ovipneumoniae strains within domestic sheep, whereas only one or a few strains tend to circulate in most populations of bighorn sheep or mountain goats. These data suggest domestic sheep are a reservoir, while the few spillovers to bighorn sheep and mountain goats can persist for extended periods. Domestic goat strains form a distinct clade from those in domestic sheep, and strains from both clades are found in bighorn sheep. The genetic structure of domestic sheep strains could not be explained by geography, whereas some strains are spatially clustered and shared among proximate bighorn sheep populations, supporting pathogen establishment and spread following spillover. These data suggest that the ability to predict M. ovipneumoniae spillover into wildlife populations may remain a challenge given the high strain diversity in domestic sheep and need for more comprehensive pathogen surveillance.

Comments

Author Correction to article made on April 22, 2020 which is available to download in additional files section.

Recommended Citation

Kamath, P.L., Manlove, K., Cassirer, E.F. et al. Genetic structure of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae informs pathogen spillover dynamics between domestic and wild Caprinae in the western United States. Sci Rep 9, 15318 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41598-019-51444-x