Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated From Urine of Healthy Bovine Have Potential as Emerging Human and Bovine Pathogens

Abstract

The study of livestock microbiota has immediate benefits for animal health as well as mitigating food contamination and emerging pathogens. While prior research has indicated the gastrointestinal tract of cattle as the source for many zoonoses, including Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli and antibiotic resistant bacteria, the bovine urinary tract microbiota has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Here, we describe 5 E. coli and 4 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from urine of dairy Gyr cattle. While both species are typically associated with urinary tract infections and mastitis, all of the animals sampled were healthy. The bovine urinary strains were compared to E. coli and P. aeruginosa isolates from other bovine samples as well as human urinary samples. While the bovine urinary E. coli isolates had genomic similarity to isolates from the gastrointestinal tract of cattle and other agricultural animals, the bovine urinary P. aeruginosa strains were most similar to human isolates suggesting niche adaptation rather than host adaptation. Examination of prophages harbored by these bovine isolates revealed similarity with prophages within distantly related E. coli and P. aeruginosa isolates from the human urinary tract. This suggests that related urinary phages may persist and/or be shared between mammals. Future studies of the bovine urinary microbiota are needed to ascertain if E. coli and P. aeruginosa are resident members of this niche and/or possible sources for emerging pathogens in humans.

Genomic Characterization of Carbapenem-Resistant Bacteria from Beef Cattle Feedlots

“…In the core-genome phylogenetic analysis, P. aeruginosa isolates from bovine sources clustered separately from those obtained from humans. Similar observations have been reported in Brazil, where P. aeruginosa recovered from healthy bovine urine samples segregated from human clinical urinary tract isolates [ 34 ]. These observations might be associated with a prolonged association and adaptation of these isolates within their respective environmental hosts.…”

Genomic and metabolic versatility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa contributes to its inter-kingdom transmission and survival

“…This human-associated strain caused local and systemic disease in Arabidopsis and sweet basil [98, 99] and extensive rot of cucumber, lettuce, potato and tomato [14, 100]. Several P. aeruginosa strains have been isolated from farm animals and their milk, reflecting the risk of human transmission during milk and meat consumption [101–104]. Zoonotic and zooanthroponotic transmissions of drug-resistant P. aeruginosa are predicted to generate severe public health risks [105, 106].…”

Bacteriophage Therapy to Control Bovine Mastitis: A Review

“…Although a fairly large number of species are included in the list above, there are other examples of species which have been associated with the onset of mastitis. These include K. oxytoca [ 9 ], Mycobacterium bovis [ 10 ], Pseudomonas aeruginosa [ 11 ] and S. xylosus [ 12 , 13 ].…”