Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/74862
Title: Occurrence of Brucella ceti in striped dolphins from Italian Seas
Authors: Garofolo, Giuliano
Petrella, Antonio
Lucifora, Giuseppe
Di Francesco, Gabriella
Di Guardo, Giovanni
Pautasso, Alessandra
Iulini, Barbara
Varello, Katia
Giorda, Federica 
Goria, Maria
Dondo, Alessandro
Zoppi, Simona
Di Francesco, Cristina Esmeralda
Giglio, Stefania
Ferringo, Furio
Serrecchia, Luigina
Ferrantino, Mattia Anna Rita
Zilli, Katiuscia
Janowicz, Anna
Tittarelli, Manuela
Mignone, Walter
Casalone, Cristina
Grattarola, Carla
UNESCO Clasification: 310907 Patología
240119 Zoología marina
Keywords: Brucella ceti
Infections
Striped dolphins
Cetaceans
Mediterranean sea, et al
Issue Date: 2020
Journal: PLoS ONE 
Abstract: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Brucella ceti infections have been increasingly reported in cetaceans, although a very limited characterization of Mediterranean Brucella spp. isolates has been previously reported and relatively few data exist about brucellosis among cetaceans in Italy. To address this gap, we studied 8 cases of B. ceti infection in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded along the Italian coastline from 2012 to 2018, investigated thanks to the Italian surveillance activity on stranded cetaceans. We focused on cases of stranding in eastern and western Italian seas, occurred along the Apulia (N = 6), Liguria (N = 1) and Calabria (N = 1) coastlines, through the analysis of gross and microscopic findings, the results of microbiological, biomolecular and serological investigations, as well as the detection of other relevant pathogens. The comparative genomic analysis used whole genome sequences of B. ceti from Italy paired with the publicly available complete genomes. Pathological changes consistent with B. ceti infection were detected in the central nervous system of 7 animals, showing non-suppurative meningoencephalitis. In 4 cases severe coinfections were detected, mostly involving Dolphin Morbillivirus (DMV). The severity of B. ceti-associated lesions supports the role of this microbial agent as a primary neurotropic pathogen for striped dolphins. We classified the 8 isolates into the common sequence type 26 (ST-26). Whole genome SNP analysis showed that the strains from Italy clustered into two genetically distinct clades. The first clade comprised exclusively the isolates from Ionian and Adriatic Seas, while the second one included the strain from the Ligurian Sea and those from the Catalonian coast. Plotting these clades onto the geographic map suggests a link between their phylogeny and topographical distribution. These results represent the first extensive characterization of B. ceti isolated from Italian waters reported to date and show the usefulness of WGS for understanding of the evolution of this emerging pathogen.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/74862
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240178
Source: PLoS ONE [EISSN 1932-6203], v. 15 (10 October), (Octubre 2020)
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