Molecular Epidemiology of Pasteurella multocida Associated with Bovine Respiratory Disease Outbreaks

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Pasteurella multocida is a pathogen with increasing clinical significance in bovine respiratory disease (BRD). However, the number of studies focused on the characterization of BRD-associated P. multocida isolates is low. In this study, 170 P. multocida isolates from 125 BRD outbreaks were characterized by different typing approaches (capsular and LPS typing as well as virulotyping). Additionally, a subset of isolates was further characterized by Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Overall, the results revealed a very low genetic diversity among P. multocida. These results support the clonal population structure of BRD-associated P. multocida isolates and corroborate the genetic relatedness of most P. multocida isolates associated with BRD in cattle. ABSTRACT: Studies that characterize bovine respiratory disease (BRD)-associated Pasteurella multocida isolates are scarce compared with research on isolates from other hosts and clinical backgrounds. In the present study, 170 P. multocida isolates from 125 BRD outbreaks were characterized by capsular and LPS typing as well as by virulotyping. Three capsular types (A, B, F) and three LPS genotypes (L2, L3, L6) were identified. Capsular and LPS typing revealed a very low genetic diversity (GD = 0.02) among P. multocida, with most isolates belonging to genotype A:L3 (97.6%). Virulotyping identified seven virulence-associated gene profiles, with two profiles including 95.9% of the isolates. A subset of isolates was further characterized by MLST and PFGE. The sequence types ST79 and ST13 were the most frequently identified and were grouped into the same clonal complex (CC13), a result that supports the clonal population structure of BRD-associated P. multocida isolates. PFGE typing also revealed a low genetic diversity (GD = 0.18), detecting a single pattern in 62.5% of the outbreaks in which multiple isolates were analyzed. Overall, 85.2% of the isolates belonged to pulsotypes with at least 80% genetic similarity, consistent with a clonal population structure observed by MLST analysis and corroborating the genetic relatedness of most P. multocida isolates associated with BRD in cattle.