CLONAL ANALYSIS AND VIRULENCE-ASSOCIATED TRAITS OF NATIVE Escherichia coli FROM URETHRA OF GILTS AND NATURAL/ARTIFICIAL PREGNANT SOWS

PASTERIS, S.E.; TORRES LUQUE, A.; MARTIN, A.A.; OTERO, M.C.

Roma

Conferencia; 10th EURO-GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND 5th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HISTOPATHOLOGY AND CITOPATHOLOGY.; 2018

Statements of the problem: The reproductive performance of sows is a key factor in the herd´s productivity (1). Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common problem in females (2), causing repeat breeding with a delayed return to estrus, which reduces the animal´s welfare and the litter performance; Escherichia coli being associated to these infections (3,4). Diverse studies described a unique microbiota in the UT in bitch (5). Others authors concluded that the composition of the UT bacterial communities could have an important role in the health condition of the host (6,7). Methodology: we performed the isolation and clonal association (rep-PCR, Box and Eric primers) of E. coli from the urethral microbiota of: healthy gilts-HG (n=9) and pregnant sows by natural breading-NB (n=11) or artificial insemination-AI (n=11). Also, 12 virulence factors relevant for pyelonephritic strains were evaluated by PCR: hlyA, cnf, ibeA, iutA, kpsMT II, FimH, papC, sfa/focD, afa/draBC, traT, agn43, csgA. Findings: Cultures revealed a slightly minor count (CFU/mL) for AI (3.7±0.59) group compared to HG (4.2±0.24) and NB (4.3±0.44). However, there were no differences for E. coli isolation (CFU/mL): 1.45±1.36, 2.87±1.53 and 2.61±1.84, for AI, NB and HG, respectively. The clonal analysis with both, Box or Eric primers, revealed a high similarity (>90%) between E. coli isolates from different animal groups. Positive reaction was found for: FimH (76%), agn43 (92%), traT (32%) and csgA (72%), these last ones showed a differential prevalence and were associated with E. coli from NB sows. Conclusion & Significance: These results indicate that the management conditions could affect the characteristics of the urethral microbiota in sows and, therefore, the risk for urinary tract diseases. Recent publications1. Koketsu Y, Tani S, Iida R (2017) Factors for improving reproductive performance of sows and herd productivity in commercial breeding herds. Porcine Health Manag 9,3:1 doi: 10.1186/s40813-016-0049-7.2. Drolet (2012), in ?Diseases of swine? edited by: Zimmerman JJ, Karriker L A, Kent R, Schwartz J and Stevenson GW. 10th Ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc.3. Mazutti K, Noleto Aguiar T, Zotti E., Montiani-Ferreira F, Alberton G (2013) Assessment of florfenicol efficacy in the treatment of urinary tract infections in sows. Rev. Acad., Ciênc. Agrár. Ambient Curitiba 11(1):65-73.4- Bellino C, Gianella P, Grattarola C, Miniscalco B, Tursi M, Dondo A, D´Angelo A, Cagnasso A (2013). Urinary tract infections in sows in Italy: accuracy of urinalysis and urine culture against histological findings. Vet Rec 172(7).5- Burton EN, Cohn LA, Reinero CN, Rindt H, Moore SG, Ericsson AC. (2017) Characterization of the urinary microbiome in healthy dogs. PLoS One. 12(5):e0177783. 6. Dewar M, Razvi H, Reid G, Burton JP. (2017). Questions and challenges associated with studying the microbiome of the urinary tract. Ann Transl Med 5(2):33. 7. Thomas-White K, Brady M, Wolfe AJ, Mueller ER (2016). The bladder is not sterile: History and current discoveries on the urinary microbiome. Curr Bladder Dysfunct Rep 11(1):18-24.