Summary auto-generated
This study determined DNA relatedness of 17 Leptospira strains isolated from beef cattle in Zimbabwe using the hydroxyapatite method. The researchers compared these isolates with reference strains from the Leptospiraceae family. All Zimbabwe isolates were assigned to either Leptospira borgpetersenii or Leptospira kirschneri. Strains belonging to serogroups Pyrogenes, Hebdomadis, Tarassovi, and Sejroe were classified as L. borgpetersenii, while those in serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae, Australis, Bataviae, and Pomona belonged to L. kirschneri. Notably, the Zimbabwe strains of serovars fugis and paidjan belonged to L. kirschneri, differing from their reference strains which are classified as Leptospira interrogans. The study also identified several new serovars, including Zimbabwe (Icterohaemorrhagiae), mombe (Pyrogenes), marondera and mhou (Hebdomadis), and ngavi (Tarassovi). The findings suggest a possible correlation between bacterial genotype and geographical origin, with African Leptospira strains showing limited species diversity compared to global isolates.
Key findings
- All 17 Zimbabwe cattle Leptospira isolates belonged to either L. borgpetersenii (13 strains) or L. kirschneri (4 strains)
- Zimbabwe strains of serovars fugis and paidjan were classified as L. kirschneri, unlike their reference strains which belong to L. interrogans, indicating geographic variation in species assignment
- Five new serovars were identified: Zimbabwe (Icterohaemorrhagiae), mombe (Pyrogenes), marondera and mhou (Hebdomadis), and ngavi (Tarassovi)
- Among 37 African Leptospira strains analyzed, limited species diversity was observed with only L. kirschneri and L. borgpetersenii representing each of two phylogenetic groups
- African Leptospira strains within serogroups generally belong to the same species, suggesting geographic origin influences species distribution
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Abstract
The DNA relatedness of 17 Leptospira strains isolated from beef cattle in Zimbabwe was determined using the hydroxyapatite method. Similarly to previously speciated African strains, all Zimbabwe isolates belonged to either Leptospira borgpetersenii or Leptospira kirschneri. All serovars within serogroups Pyrogenes (kwale, mombe and a strain closely related to serovar nigeria), Hebdomadis (marondera and mhou), Tarassovi (ngavi) and Sejroe (balcanica and hardjo) were L. borgpetersenii. L. kirschneri contained all stra in serovars of serogroups Icterohaemorrhagiae (zimbabwe), Australis (fugis) Bataviae (paidjan) and Pomona (a strain closely related to mozdok). The species designations of the Zimbabwe fugis and paidjan strains were differe from those of the reference strains of these two serovars, both of which belong to Leptospira interrogans.