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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1517151

Comparative genomics of Leptospira santarosai reveals genomic adaptations in bovine genital strains

Provisionally accepted
Maria Isabel Di Azevedo Maria Isabel Di Azevedo 1*Frederico Schmitt Kremer Frederico Schmitt Kremer 2Camila Ezepha Camila Ezepha 1João Pedro Gomes Greco João Pedro Gomes Greco 2Isadora Coenza da Silva Isadora Coenza da Silva 2Pascale Bourhy Pascale Bourhy 3Walter Lilenbaum Walter Lilenbaum 1
  • 1 Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil
  • 2 Federal University of Pelotas, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
  • 3 Institut Pasteur, Paris, Île-de-France, France

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Bovine genital leptospirosis (BGL) is a silent and chronic reproductive syndrome associated with reproductive failures that result in animal suffering and substantial financial losses for farmers. Important aspects of the interactions between the host and the pathogen during chronic leptospirosis have been well described in the kidney, but little is known about the genital infection mechanisms. The present study sheds light on the pathophysiology of BGL based on comparative genomic analysis of renal versus genital isolates of Leptospira santarosai genomes, an endemic species on Latin America. A significant number of genes were exclusive of the genital strains, with emphasis on genes associated with cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis, mobilome: prophages and transposons, and signal transduction mechanisms. Overall, these gene clusters play crucial roles in bacterial colonization and evasion of the immune response, which can reflect leptospiral tissue tropism to the genital niche. We provide new insights into the pathophysiology of an important and neglected syndrome in bovine, helping to elucidate the evolution of adaptation of leptospires in the genital tract of cows.

    Keywords: Leptospirosis, BGL, Veterinary Microbiology, WGS, infectious disease

    Received: 25 Oct 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Di Azevedo, Kremer, Ezepha, Greco, da Silva, Bourhy and Lilenbaum. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Maria Isabel Di Azevedo, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil

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