Molecular characterisation of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Bovine tuberculosis (BTB), a chronic disease of mammals caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a
threat to South African wildlife. It has been reported that African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer)
are reservoir hosts of BTB in South African wildlife populations. This study reports on the
molecular identification and typing of 31 M. bovis isolates collected between 1993 and 2008,
mainly from buffaloes but also from two lions and a bush pig, in the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
(HiP) in KwaZulu-Natal. To study the dynamics of BTB in the buffalo populations, 28 M. bovis
isolates from the HiP and epidemiologically related parks were characterised using regions
of difference deletion analysis for species identification and spoligotyping, variable number
of tandem repeats (VNTR), polymorphic G–C-rich sequences and IS6110 restriction fragment
length polymorphism (RFLP) genotyping methods. At least three distinct M. bovis genotypes
were found amongst HiP samples. The combination of VNTR typing (using a 16-loci panel) and
IS6110 RFLP revealed the presence of three additional genetic profiles in individual buffaloes,
demonstrating that the highest level of discrimination was achieved by these typing methods.
One of the observed spoligotypes (SB0130) was dominant and represented 75% of isolates
from buffaloes. A novel M. bovis spoligotype (SB1474), which is reported for the first time in
this study, was observed in 14.3% of isolates from buffaloes. Based on the observed genetic
relationships, the findings suggest independent introductions from at least three unrelated
sources. These findings improve the knowledge regarding the diversity of circulating M. bovis
strains in the HiP.
Description
CITATION: Hlokwe, T. M., et al. 2011. Molecular characterisation of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 78(1), Art. #232, doi:10.4102/ojvr.v78i1.232.
The original publication is available at http://www.ojvr.org
The original publication is available at http://www.ojvr.org
Keywords
Tuberculosis in buffaloes -- Kwa-Zulu-Natal (South Africa), Wildlife diseases -- Molecular aspects, Mycobacterium bovis
Citation
Hlokwe, T. M., et al. 2011. Molecular characterisation of Mycobacterium bovis isolated from African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Onderstepoort Journal
of Veterinary Research, 78(1), Art. #232, doi:10.4102/ojvr.v78i1.232