The bacterial and pathogenic landscape of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) whole blood and serum from Kenya

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and developing country instituteen
cg.authorship.typesCGIAR and advanced research instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Livestock Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.affiliationKEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programmeen
cg.contributor.affiliationLos Alamos National Laboratoryen
cg.contributor.affiliationWildlife Research and Training Institute, Kenyaen
cg.contributor.affiliationWorld Organisation for Animal Healthen
cg.contributor.affiliationKenya Wildlife Serviceen
cg.contributor.affiliationZoonotic Disease Unit, Kenyaen
cg.contributor.affiliationUniversity of Nairobien
cg.contributor.affiliationFreie Universität Berlinen
cg.contributor.donorUnited States Defense Threat Reduction Agencyen
cg.coverage.countryKenya
cg.coverage.iso3166-alpha2KE
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.coverage.regionEastern Africa
cg.creator.identifierRichard Nyamota: 0000-0002-9569-1953
cg.creator.identifierHussein Abkallo: 0000-0002-5594-4418
cg.creator.identifierJames Akoko: 0000-0001-5730-4505
cg.creator.identifierAthman Mwatondo: 0000-0002-3180-7013
cg.creator.identifierMathew Muturi: 0000-0003-2110-8099
cg.creator.identifierBernard Bett: 0000-0001-9376-2941
cg.howPublishedFormally Publisheden
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s42523-024-00374-9en
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn2524-4671en
cg.journalAnimal Microbiomeen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.speciesSyncerus cafferen
cg.subject.ilriBUFFALOen
cg.subject.ilriDIAGNOSTICSen
cg.subject.impactAreaNutrition, health and food security
cg.subject.sdgSDG 2 - Zero hungeren
cg.volume7en
dc.contributor.authorNyamota, Richarden
dc.contributor.authorMiddlebrook, E.A.en
dc.contributor.authorAbkallo, Hussein M.en
dc.contributor.authorAkoko, James M.en
dc.contributor.authorGakuya, F.en
dc.contributor.authorWambua, Lillianen
dc.contributor.authorRonoh, B.en
dc.contributor.authorLekolool, I.en
dc.contributor.authorMwatondo, Athmanen
dc.contributor.authorMuturi, Mathewen
dc.contributor.authorBett, Bernard K.en
dc.contributor.authorFair, J.M.en
dc.contributor.authorBartlow, A.W.en
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-16T06:16:22Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-16T06:16:22Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/169188
dc.titleThe bacterial and pathogenic landscape of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) whole blood and serum from Kenyaen
dcterms.abstractBackground: African buffalo (<i>Syncerus caffer</i>) is a significant reservoir host for many zoonotic and parasitic infections in Africa. These include a range of viruses and pathogenic bacteria, such as tick-borne rickettsial organisms. Despite the considerations of mammalian blood as a sterile environment, blood microbiome sequencing could become crucial for agnostic biosurveillance. This study investigated the blood microbiome of clinically healthy wild buffaloes in Kenya to determine its applicability in agnostic testing for bacteria in apparently healthy wild animals. Methods: Whole blood and serum samples were collected from 46 wild African buffalos from Meru National Park (30), Buffalo Springs (6) and Shaba (10) National Reserves in upper eastern Kenya. Total deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from these samples and subjected to amplicon-based sequencing targeting the 16 S rRNA gene. The bacteria operational taxonomic units (OTU) were identified to species levels by mapping the generated V12 and V45 regions of 16 S rRNA gene to the SILVA database. These OTU tables were used to infer the microbial abundance in each sample type and at the individual animal level. The sequences for the corresponding OTUs were also used to generate phylogenetic trees and thus infer evolution for the OTUs of interest. Results: Here, we demonstrate that buffaloes harbor many bacteria in their blood. We also report a diversity of 16 S rRNA gene sequences for <i>Anaplasma</i> and <i>Mycoplasma</i> from individual animals. By sequencing both whole blood and serum in triplicate for each animal, we provide evidence of the differences in detecting bacteria in both sample types. Conclusions: Diverse bacteria, including some potential pathogens, can be found in the blood of clinically healthy wild African buffalo. Agnostic surveillance for such pathogens can be achieved through blood microbiome sequencing. However, considerations for the question being asked for the blood microbiome in wildlife will impact the choice for using whole blood or serum for sequencing.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.audienceAcademicsen
dcterms.audienceScientistsen
dcterms.available2025-01-12
dcterms.bibliographicCitationNyamota, R., Middlebrook, E.A., Abkallo, H.M., Akoko, J., Gakuya, F., Wambua, L., Ronoh, B., Lekolool, I., Mwatondo, A., Muturi, M., Bett, B., Fair, J.M. and Bartlow, A.W. 2025. The bacterial and pathogenic landscape of African buffalo (<i>Syncerus caffer</i>) whole blood and serum from Kenya. Animal Microbiome 7: 6.en
dcterms.extent6en
dcterms.issued2025-01-12
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
dcterms.publisherBioMed Centralen
dcterms.subjectafrican buffaloesen
dcterms.subjectdiagnosisen
dcterms.subjectmicrobiomesen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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