Pathogen variation across time and space: sequencing to characterize Mannheimia haemolytica diversity

Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) is a major animal health and economic issue that affects cattle industries worldwide. Within the USA, the beef cattle industry loses up to an estimated 1 billion dollars a year due to BRDC. There are many contributors to BRDC, including environmental stressors and viral and/or bacterial infections. One species of bacteria in particular, Mannheimia haemolytica, is recognized as the major cause of severe fibrinonecrotic pneumonia in cattle. M. haemolytica is an opportunistic pathogen that normally populates the upper respiratory tract of cattle, and invades the lower respiratory tract in stressed and/or virally infected cattle by mechanisms that are not completely understood. However, not all M. haemolytica appear to be equally pathogenic to cattle. Thus, a test could be developed to distinguish M. haemolytica genetic subtypes by their propensity to cause respiratory disease, allowing isolation and/or treatment of cattle harboring strains with an increased propensity to cause disease. To that end, the genomes of over 300 M. haemolytica strains are being sequenced.