Evidence for a Role of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gallolyticus in the Aetiology of Exudative Cloacitis in the Critically Endangered Kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus)

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dc.citation.volumeEarly View
dc.contributor.authorFrench RK
dc.contributor.authorWaller SJ
dc.contributor.authorWierenga JR
dc.contributor.authorGrimwood RM
dc.contributor.authorHodgkinson-Bean J
dc.contributor.authorDigby A
dc.contributor.authorUddstrom L
dc.contributor.authorEason D
dc.contributor.authorKākāpō Recovery Team
dc.contributor.authorArgilla LS
dc.contributor.authorBiggs PJ
dc.contributor.authorCookson A
dc.contributor.authorFrench NP
dc.contributor.authorGeoghegan JL
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-03T23:22:02Z
dc.date.available2025-06-03T23:22:02Z
dc.date.issued2025-04-19
dc.description.abstractThe kākāpō is a critically endangered flightless parrot which suffers from exudative cloacitis, a debilitating disease resulting in inflammation of the vent margin or cloaca. Despite this disease emerging over 20 years ago, the cause of exudative cloacitis remains elusive. We used total RNA sequencing and metatranscriptomic analysis to characterise the infectome of lesions and cloacal swabs from nine kākāpō affected with exudative cloacitis, and compared this to cloacal swabs from 45 non-diseased kākāpō. We identified three bacterial species—Streptococcus gallolyticus, Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli—as significantly more abundant in diseased kākāpō compared to healthy individuals. The genetic diversity observed in both S. gallolyticus and E. faecalis among diseased kākāpō suggests that these bacteria originate from exogenous sources rather than from kākāpō-to-kākāpō transmission. The presence of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC)-associated virulence factors in the diseased kākāpō population suggests that E. coli may play a critical role in disease progression by facilitating iron acquisition and causing DNA damage in host cells, possibly in association with E. faecalis. No avian viral, fungal nor other parasitic species were identified. These results, combined with the consistent presence of one E. coli gnd sequence type across multiple diseased birds, suggest that this species may be the primary cause of exudative cloacitis. These findings shed light on possible causative agents of exudative cloacitis, and offer insights into the interplay of microbial factors influencing the disease.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.identifier.citationFrench RK, Waller SJ, Wierenga JR, Grimwood RM, Hodgkinson-Bean J, Digby A, Uddstrom L, Eason D, Argilla LS, Biggs PJ, Cookson A, French NP, Geoghegan JL. (2025). Evidence for a Role of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gallolyticus in the Aetiology of Exudative Cloacitis in the Critically Endangered Kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus). Molecular Ecology. Early View.
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/mec.17761
dc.identifier.eissn1365-294X
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0962-1083
dc.identifier.numbere17761
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72982
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd
dc.publisher.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17761
dc.relation.isPartOfMolecular Ecology
dc.rights(c) The author/sen
dc.rights.licenseCC BYen
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectinfectome
dc.subjectkakapo
dc.subjectmetatranscriptomics
dc.subjectpathogen discovery
dc.subjecttotal RNA sequencing
dc.subjectwildlife disease
dc.titleEvidence for a Role of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gallolyticus in the Aetiology of Exudative Cloacitis in the Critically Endangered Kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus)
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id500932
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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