Rapid dissemination of Mycobacterium bovis from cattle dung to soil by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris - INRAE - Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement
Article Dans Une Revue Veterinary Microbiology Année : 2016

Rapid dissemination of Mycobacterium bovis from cattle dung to soil by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris

Résumé

Indirect transmission of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (bTB), between wildlife and livestock is thought to occur by inhalation or ingestion of environmental substrates contaminated through animal shedding. The role of the soil fauna, such as earthworms, in the circulation of M. bovis from contaminated animal feces is of interest in the epidemiology of bTB. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of earthworm activity on M. bovis transfer from animal dung to castings and the surrounding soil. For this purpose, microcosms of soil containing the anecic eathworms Lumbricus terrestris were prepared and covered with cattle feces spiked with the M. bovis BCG strain Pasteur to carry out two separate experiments. The dissemination, the gut carriage and the excretion of M. bovis were all monitored using a specific qPCR-based assay. Our results showed that the earthworm L. terrestris was able to rapidly disseminate M. bovis from the contaminated cattle feces to the surrounding soil through casting egestion. Moreover, contaminated earthworms were shown to shed the bacteria for 4 days when transferred to a M. bovis-free soil. This study highlights for the first time the possible role of earthworms in the dissemination and the persistence of M. bovis in soils within bTB endemic areas.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

hal-01488906 , version 1 (14-03-2017)

Identifiants

Citer

Elodie Barbier, Benoît Chantemesse, Murielle Rochelet, Léon Fayolle, Loic Bollache, et al.. Rapid dissemination of Mycobacterium bovis from cattle dung to soil by the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. Veterinary Microbiology, 2016, 186, pp.1-7. ⟨10.1016/j.vetmic.2016.01.025⟩. ⟨hal-01488906⟩
124 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

More