Genomic and metabolic characterization of Trueperella pyogenes isolated from domestic and wild animals

Trueperella pyogenes is an important bacterial pathogen implicated in infections such as mastitis, metritis, pneumonia, and liver abscesses in both domestic and wild animals as well as endocarditis and prosthetic joint infections in humans. Understanding the genomic and metabolic features that enable T. pyogenes to colonize different anatomical sites within a host and its inter-kingdom transmission and survival is important for the effective control of this pathogen. We employed whole genome sequencing, phenotype microarrays, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing to identify genomic, metabolic and phenotypic features as well as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in T. pyogenes recovered from different livestock, companion and wildlife animals. For comparative genomic analysis, 83 T. pyogenes genomes, including 60 isolated in the current study and 23 publicly available genomes were evaluated. These genomes represented T. pyogenes strains originated from 16 different body sites of 11 different animal hosts (e.g. bovine, swine, ovine, cervid, bison, equine, chamois, feline). Additionally, 49 T. pyogenes isolates (bovine, ovine, deer, swine and feline) were evaluated for phenotypic antimicrobial resistance using disk diffusion, and for metabolic profiling using the Biology GENIII MicroPlates. We identified that T. pyogenes strains are not host- or body site-specific. The presence of conserved virulence genes ( plo and fimA ), as well as genotypic and phenotypic AMR may contribute to T. pyogenes’s ability to cause infections in livestock, wildlife, and pets. Most of the tested isolates metabolized diverse carbon sources and chemical compounds, suggesting that this metabolic versatility may contribute to T. pyogenes ’ survival, competitive advantage, and pathogenic potential.