M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds
Abstract Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae are the causative agents of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is still a concern due to its health implications and economic impact. Although M. caprae is less prevalent than M. bovis among bovine tuberculosis cases, it has a significant impact on anima...
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BMC
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-025-01585-x |
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| author | Cristina Bertasio Valentina Carta Giovanni Parisio Mariagrazia Zanoni Marco Tamba Laura Mazzera Erika Scaltriti Maria Lodovica Pacciarini Giovanni Loris Alborali Daniel Polzer Annette Nigsch Romana Steinparzer Maria Beatrice Boniotti |
| author_facet | Cristina Bertasio Valentina Carta Giovanni Parisio Mariagrazia Zanoni Marco Tamba Laura Mazzera Erika Scaltriti Maria Lodovica Pacciarini Giovanni Loris Alborali Daniel Polzer Annette Nigsch Romana Steinparzer Maria Beatrice Boniotti |
| author_sort | Cristina Bertasio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae are the causative agents of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is still a concern due to its health implications and economic impact. Although M. caprae is less prevalent than M. bovis among bovine tuberculosis cases, it has a significant impact on animal health especially in Europe, where it has been isolated from a range of hosts. Starting from spoligotyping and the MIRU-VNTR profile specifically associated with the Lechtal subgroup we decided to process a selection of Italian M. caprae isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS) to define the phylogenetic relationships between isolates and deepen the understanding of this public health issue. In this study, 20 outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis caused by M. caprae in northern Italy were retrospectively investigated by interpreting and validating WGS results with available epidemiological information. Genomes of 34 Italian strains, with a known and traditionally typed genotype, isolated between 2001 and 2022 from 21 bovine farms, with 12 isolates from Austria, were analyzed focusing on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) to derive evolutionary relationships, pairing with the tracing of infections, suggested by the epidemiological contacts. The results outline possible connections between outbreaks, which caused the spread of the infection, obtaining two clusters differing by 6–16 SNP pairwise, overlapping with the territory distribution of the herds between two different Italian regions. Epidemiological information and phylogeny revealed that M. caprae was probably introduced in northern Italy from Austria and/or Germany, through separate and independent events for the two Italian clusters. The complex approach of integrating WGS data with epidemiological information proved to be useful in delineating likely transmission chains and identifying the possible sources of infection, showing how NGS is a powerful tool to support epidemiological investigations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ef7840f9120c415daa856ddb3be3573e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1297-9716 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-ef7840f9120c415daa856ddb3be3573e2025-08-20T03:43:15ZengBMCVeterinary Research1297-97162025-08-0156111610.1186/s13567-025-01585-xM. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herdsCristina Bertasio0Valentina Carta1Giovanni Parisio2Mariagrazia Zanoni3Marco Tamba4Laura Mazzera5Erika Scaltriti6Maria Lodovica Pacciarini7Giovanni Loris Alborali8Daniel Polzer9Annette Nigsch10Romana Steinparzer11Maria Beatrice Boniotti12National Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaRisk Analysis and Genomic Epidemiology Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaRisk Analysis and Genomic Epidemiology Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaAustrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Department for Animal HealthAustrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Department for Animal HealthAustrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Department for Animal HealthNational Reference Centre for Bovine Tuberculosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Lombardia E Dell’Emilia RomagnaAbstract Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae are the causative agents of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), which is still a concern due to its health implications and economic impact. Although M. caprae is less prevalent than M. bovis among bovine tuberculosis cases, it has a significant impact on animal health especially in Europe, where it has been isolated from a range of hosts. Starting from spoligotyping and the MIRU-VNTR profile specifically associated with the Lechtal subgroup we decided to process a selection of Italian M. caprae isolates using whole genome sequencing (WGS) to define the phylogenetic relationships between isolates and deepen the understanding of this public health issue. In this study, 20 outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis caused by M. caprae in northern Italy were retrospectively investigated by interpreting and validating WGS results with available epidemiological information. Genomes of 34 Italian strains, with a known and traditionally typed genotype, isolated between 2001 and 2022 from 21 bovine farms, with 12 isolates from Austria, were analyzed focusing on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) to derive evolutionary relationships, pairing with the tracing of infections, suggested by the epidemiological contacts. The results outline possible connections between outbreaks, which caused the spread of the infection, obtaining two clusters differing by 6–16 SNP pairwise, overlapping with the territory distribution of the herds between two different Italian regions. Epidemiological information and phylogeny revealed that M. caprae was probably introduced in northern Italy from Austria and/or Germany, through separate and independent events for the two Italian clusters. The complex approach of integrating WGS data with epidemiological information proved to be useful in delineating likely transmission chains and identifying the possible sources of infection, showing how NGS is a powerful tool to support epidemiological investigations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-025-01585-xMycobacterium capraewhole genome sequencingSNPVNTR-MIRU genotypesbovine tuberculosisphylogeny |
| spellingShingle | Cristina Bertasio Valentina Carta Giovanni Parisio Mariagrazia Zanoni Marco Tamba Laura Mazzera Erika Scaltriti Maria Lodovica Pacciarini Giovanni Loris Alborali Daniel Polzer Annette Nigsch Romana Steinparzer Maria Beatrice Boniotti M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds Veterinary Research Mycobacterium caprae whole genome sequencing SNP VNTR-MIRU genotypes bovine tuberculosis phylogeny |
| title | M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| title_full | M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| title_fullStr | M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| title_full_unstemmed | M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| title_short | M. caprae in northern Italy: a comprehensive analysis through whole-genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| title_sort | m caprae in northern italy a comprehensive analysis through whole genome sequencing on the genetic variability in bovine herds |
| topic | Mycobacterium caprae whole genome sequencing SNP VNTR-MIRU genotypes bovine tuberculosis phylogeny |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-025-01585-x |
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