10urn:lsid:arphahub.com:pub:6BEA2F36-F41A-5C4C-8F71-33F322F204B5urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0D3F4FBA-8FC4-4738-B942-05DB471A61E6Nature ConservationNC1314-69471314-3301Pensoft Publishers10.3897/natureconservation.39.4859948599Review ArticleBacteriaSerpentesConservation BiologyWildlife TradeTogoWest AfricaA preliminary assessment of bacteria in “ranched” ball pythons (Pythonregius), Togo, West AfricaD'CruzeNeilneildcruze@worldanimalprotection.org123BatesJodie3AssouDélagnon45RonfotDelphine6CoulthardEmma3SegniagbetoGabriel Hoinsoudé45AuliyaMark76MegsonDavid3RowntreeJennifer3World Animal Protection, 222 Gray’s Inn Rd., London WC1X 8HB, UKUniversity of OxfordTubneyUnited KingdomWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon OX13 5QL, UKManchester Metropolitan UniversityManchesterUnited KingdomEcology and Environment Research Centre, Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, All Saints Building, All Saints, Manchester M15 6BH, UKWorld Animal ProtectionLondonUnited KingdomLaboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, BP 1515 Lomé-TogoUniversity of LoméLoméTogoTogolese Society for Nature Conservation (AGBO-ZEGUE NGO). 06 BP 6057 Lomé-TogoTogolese Society for Nature ConservationLoméTogoZoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Department Herpetology, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, GermanyZoological Research Museum Alexander KoenigBonnGermanyDepartment of Conservation Biology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, 04318 Leipzig, GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZLeipzigGermany
Corresponding author: Neil D’Cruze (neil.dcruze@zoo.ox.ac.uk)
Academic editor: F. Andreone
202013052020397386F93A5146-D656-59C1-9116-D7BA1B985EF835CA7D69-9AAD-419B-A6A7-40E814A5FF7738369461911201926032020Neil D'Cruze, Jodie Bates, Délagnon Assou, Delphine Ronfot, Emma Coulthard, Gabriel Hoinsoudé Segniagbeto, Mark Auliya, David Megson, Jennifer RowntreeThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.http://zoobank.org/35CA7D69-9AAD-419B-A6A7-40E814A5FF77
Captive reptiles are routinely identified as reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria and reports of reptile-associated infections relating to some species are well documented (e.g., salmonellosis). Currently, relatively little is known about the epidemiology and bacteria of ball pythons. We carried out a survey of ball python farms in Togo, West Africa to assess the presence of any potentially pathogenic bacterial taxa that have been identified in recent scientific literature relating to this species. The presence of bacteria belonging to the genera Acinetobacter, Bacteroides, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Lysobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, and Tsukamurella in oral and cloacal samples taken from five individual ball pythons is of potential concern for horizontal transmission given that pathogenic species belonging to these genera have been previously documented. The presence of bacteria belonging to the genera Clostridium, Escherichia, Moraxella, and Stenotrophomonas in the oral and rectal samples taken from five mice used to feed ball pythons suggests that they represent a potential reservoir of infection for wild caught ball pythons and their progeny. Furthermore, possible sources of environmental contamination include other captive amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals, as well as free ranging birds and small mammals. Additional surveillance of ball pythons in the wild and in captivity at python farms in West Africa will shed light on whether or not this type of commercial activity is increasing pathogen exposure and lowering barriers to transmission. Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, it is recommended that python farms should immediately establish biosecurity and disease surveillance practices to minimize potential horizontal and vertical bacterial transfer.
D’Cruze N, Bates J, Assou D, Ronfot D, Coulthard E, Segniagbeto GH, Auliya M, Megson D, Rowntree J (2020) A preliminary assessment of bacteria in “ranched” ball pythons (Python regius), Togo, West Africa. Nature Conservation 39: 73–86. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.39.48599
Introduction
Global demand for reptiles as exotic pets is a relatively recent phenomenon (Mitchell 2009). Their popularity, however, has risen to the extent that they are now thought to represent the second most species-rich vertebrate class (after birds) in the international exotic pet trade (Bush et al. 2014). Reptiles are particularly rife in European and North American markets (Auliya 2003; Jensen et al. 2018), with conservative estimates of c. 0.7 million individuals being kept in the UK and 9.4 million in the USA, respectively (PFMA 2017; APPA 2019).
Global trade in wildlife (whether it legal or illegal) has also been cited as a disease transmission mechanism of growing concern in recent decades (Smith et al. 2009; Can et al. 2019). Specifically, these concerns relate to how pathogens are spread when humans capture wild animals from their natural habitats, transport them by land, sea and air and trade them dead or alive in different parts of a country or the world (e.g., Morens et al. 2004; Karesh et al. 2005; OIE 2017).
Captive reptiles are routinely identified as reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria and reports of reptile-associated infections for some species are well documented, such as salmonellosis (Arena et al. 2012; Bošnjak et al. 2016; Green et al. 2020). Several studies have investigated and highlighted the potential for horizontal and vertical transfer of disease at commercial captive breeding operations [e.g., Green iguanas (Iguanaiguana) (Mitchell et al. 1999; Mitchell and Shane 2000) and Green sea turtles (Cheloniamydas) (Warwick et al. 2013)]. In some scenarios reptile-associated infections can spread to humans who have had direct or indirect contact with pet snakes and feeder rodents (used as reptile food) before their illnesses occurred [e.g., Canada in late 2019; (Government of Canada 2019)].
The ball python (Pythonregius), a species native to western and central Africa, is being exported in relatively large numbers [1,657,814 live individuals since 1978 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [CITES] Trade Database; https://trade.cites.org)]. In fact, it is the single most traded CITES listed species (currently under CITES Appendix II) that is legally exported alive from Africa (D’Cruze et al. 2020). Much of this international trade can be traced back to a number of python “farms” that are in operation across West Africa, most notably in Benin, Ghana and Togo (Robinson et al. 2015).
Since c. 1996, these python farms have been engaged in “ranching” (UNEP 2019), which refers to rearing, in a controlled environment, snakes taken as eggs or juveniles from the wild, where they would otherwise have had a low probability of surviving to adulthood (CITES 2019), and releasing a proportion back into the wild (Ineich 2006). Additionally, gravid females are also collected, and after laying their eggs in captivity are released back into the wild (Ineich 2006).
Recent studies have confirmed that the wild capture of ball pythons (for the export of specimens as “ranched” individuals the CITES source code “R” is used) often involves the removal of snakes from rodent burrows and live transport in sacks filled with other reptiles (D’Cruze et al. 2020). Once at farms, the snakes are reportedly housed separately, but they can also be housed at times in overcrowded enclosures in rooms that are filled with many other reptile species (D’Cruze et al. 2020). Mature ball pythons are typically fed live mice that are sourced from breeders or housed, or even bred, on site at farms.
Despite the international scope, large scale, and national wild release component of ball python “ranching” in Togo, there has been no current research focused on the epidemiology of this commercial trade activity. Therefore, we aimed to carry out an initial review, using amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) methods, to determine the presence of any potentially pathogenic genera of bacteria present in ball pythons and the live mice used as their food. We hope our findings will inform biosecurity surveillance practices to minimize potential horizontal and vertical transfer of zoonotic diseases.
MethodsLiterature review
We conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature featured in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, from 2009–2019 to identify bacteria that are known to have affected the well-being of ball pythons. The following search terms were used (disease, pathogen, bacteria, bacterial). Each search term was employed with the Boolean operator “AND”, with three additional terms (ball python, royal python, Pythonregius).
Laboratory analysis
A total of 20 dry swab samples were taken from five snakes and five mice at a python farm in Togo in September 2019 (Fig. 1, Suppl. material 1). Two swab samples were taken from each animal, one each from oral (both snake and mice), cloacal (snakes only) and rectal (mice only) orifices. Swabs were immediately transferred into 2 ml screwcap microcentrifuge tubes containing approximately 600 µl of DNA/RNA Shield and stored at -20 °C until transport to the UK.
Prior to DNA extraction, samples (swab and reagent) were transferred into a fresh 2 ml screwcap microcentrifuge bead-beating tube, containing approximately 0.06 g of 0.1 mm glass-silica beads (Thistle Scientific, Glasgow), and vortexed twice for 30 seconds. The swabs were then discarded and the supernatant/liquid portion of the sample transferred to a 1.5 ml tube containing 274 µl polyethylene glycol (6000) and 141 µl 5M sodium chloride and incubated at 5 °C for 15–45 minutes. DNA was extracted using a modified phenol-chloroform method (Rogers et al. 2013) with reduced reagent volumes (200 µl each of molecular biology grade water, phenol, phenol-chloroform and ammonium-acetate: isopropanol compared to the 500 µl used previously). DNA pellets were suspended in 10 µl of molecular biology grade water and stored at -20 °C.
For PCR, 16S rRNA gene amplicons were generated following the Illumina two-step protocol (Illumina 2019) using primers designed by Caporaso et al. (2012) for the first step PCR and Nextera XT Index primers (Illumina, USA) for the second step. PCR conditions are shown in Appendix 1. Amplicon clean-up was performed using AMPure XP beads (Beckman Coulter, UK), and normalised using a 96-well SequalPrep Normalisation Plate (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA). Amplicons were sequenced using a 300-cycle MiSeq Reagent Micro Kit v2 (Illumina, USA) with a read length of 2 × 150 bp – on the MiSeq platform.
Sequence quality of the top six samples was visually assessed within R (R Core Team 2019) using the DADA2 R package (Callahan et al. 2016), which was used for taxonomic assignment in combination with the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) (Parks et al. 2018; Chaumeil et al. 2019) using 1 × 150 bp forward read sequences. Raw reads were processed in accordance with the DADA2 Pipeline Tutorial (1.12) (Callahan 2019). In addition to using the standard filtering parameters for trimming, an extra step was added to ensure only amplicons of the expected length were included (i.e., with a minimum length of 148 and a maximum length of 151 bp). The resultant ASV and taxonomy csv files were combined to make a single database, which was further trimmed in Excel (Microsoft, USA). Prior to the assignment of presumptive genus-level classification for the ASVs, NA values for taxonomic levels at family level and above were removed. NA values at the genus level were kept and included as part of the ‘other’ genus category. Species level assignment was not possible due to the short length of the targeted 16S rRNA region, which may be indistinguishable among species and / or strains (Bulman et al. 2018; Osawa et al. 2015).
Bacterial genera that had been reported in the published scientific literature were identified using the search function within Excel. The assigned identity was confirmed using nucleotide BLAST searches against the 16S rRNA sequences (Bacteria and Archaea) coupled with megablast (highly similar sequences). Sequence read values for each genus were combined to create a stacked bar chart. No cut-off values for reads per sample were applied. The overall relative abundance for some genera were calculated by converting the number of reads for ASVs that have been assigned to a particular genus to a percentage relative to the total number of reads (derived using ASVs assigned genera in addition to the ‘other’ category).
Results
The literature review identified 29 different species of bacteria across 26 genera that have negatively impacted the health of ball pythons [according to 15 scientific papers published between 2017 and 2019 (Table 1, Fig. 1, Suppl. material 1)]. Sequencing the microbiota of snake and mouse samples collected from the python farm in Togo provided presumptive identification of 13 (50%) of these 26 genera. One of the samples (Mouse Oral 1) did not contain amplifiable DNA and hence was not successfully sequenced. (Table 1, Fig. 1). Searches with BLAST resulted in a query cover range of 94 – 100% and percentage identity range of 89 – 100% (Suppl. material 1).
A Relative abundance of bacteria genera identified in samples taken from mice and ball pythons (Pythonregius) at a python farm in Togo. Genera containing potential pathogens of known zoonotic concern to ball pythons (as reported in the scientific literature) are highlighted in colour. The majority of reads (shown in grey) were assigned to “other” least concern groups, which consisted of ASVs that were either assigned to non-target genera or no genus. Samples were from swabs of: MR – mouse rectal; MO – mouse oral, SC – snake cloacal; and SO – snake oral. B Relative abundance of bacteria genera of known zoonotic concern to ball pythons (Pythonregius) (as reported in the scientific literature) identified in samples taken from mice and snakes at a python farm in Togo. Samples were from swabs of: MR – mouse rectal; MO – mouse oral, SC – snake cloacal; and SO – snake oral. No bacterial genera of zoonotic concern were identified from sample MO2.
https://binary.pensoft.net/fig/409654
In terms of overall abundance, 85% of ASVs were assigned to genera of bacteria that were not identified as being of zoonotic concern by the literature review (Table 1, Fig. 1, Suppl. material 1). However, all but one of the samples (95%) contained at least one assigned genus of potential zoonotic concern (Table 1, Fig. 1). Between zero to six of the literature-identified genera were assigned within each sample (mean of two) (Supp. Mat. I). The relative abundance of the literature-identified genera ranged between 0–35% of isolates per sample (mean of 13%) (Suppl. material 1).
Of the literature-identified genera, Lysobacter was the most prevalent among the genera-assigned ASVs, although it was only associated with snake samples. Lysobacter assigned ASVs also accounted for just over 10% with regards to the overall relative abundance of ASVs. Furthermore, these ASVs were present within eight out of the 19 samples (Fig. 1, Suppl. material 1). The second most abundant genus was Bacteroides, which accounted for 2% of the overall relative abundance of ASVs. Bacteroides assigned ASVs were present in each of the four sample types (snake oral, snake cloacal, mouse oral and mouse rectal), although relative abundance was greatest in the mouse rectal sample set (Fig. 1; Suppl. material 1).
List of potentially pathogenic bacteria from ball pythons (Pythonregius) (see Methods).
Genera
Species
References
Acinetobacter
Acinetobactercalcoaceticus, Acinetobacterlwoffii
Dipineto et al. 2014; Zancoli et al. 2015
Aeromonas
Aeromonashydrophila, Aeromonasveronii
Dipineto et al. 2014; Zancoli et al. 2015
Anaplasma
Anaplasmaphagocytophilum
Nowak et al. 2010
Bacteroides
Bacteroides spp.
Dipineto et al. 2014
Bordetella
Bordetellahinzii
Schmidt et al. 2013
Chlamydophila
Chlamydophila spp.
Hoon-Hanks et al. 2018
Citrobacter
Citrobacterfreundii
Dipineto et al. 2014; Zancoli et al. 2015; Schmidt et al. 2013
Clostridium
Clostridium spp.
Dipineto et al. 2014
Elizabethkingia
Elizabethkingiameningoseptica
Schmidt et al. 2013
Enterobacter
Enterobactercloacae
Dipineto et al. 2014; Schmidt et al. 2013
Enterococcus
Enterococcuspallens
Zancoli et al. 2015
Escherichia
Escherichiacoli
Moss et al. 2007; Dipineto et al. 2014; Larsen et al. 2011
Moss et al. 2007; Krishnasamy et al. 2018; Dipineto et al. 2014; Schmidt et al. 2013; White et al. 2011
Serratia
Serratiaplymuthica
Zancoli et al. 2015
Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcuswarneri
Dipineto et al. 2014; Zancoli et al. 2015; White et al. 2011; Schmidt et al. 2013
Stenotrophomonas
Stenotrophomonasmaltophilia
Zancoli et al. 2015; Schmidt et al. 2013; Klinger et al. 2018
Tsukamurella
Tsukamurellapaurometabola
Zancoli et al. 2015
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of any potentially pathogenic bacterial taxa in ball pythons and the live mice used as their food at a commercial python farm that could impact negatively on the health of these snakes and/or those keeping them. The target facility reportedly releases all previously gravid females, and approximately 20% of their hatchlings, back into the wild and exports the remainder internationally for use as exotic pets (primarily to the USA). Of particular interest was relating the epidemiology of infection to potential vertical and horizontal transmission.
This study reported 13 different genera of bacteria, which include species that are known pathogens of ball pythons. The assignment of ASVs to Acinetobacter, Bacteroides, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Lysobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, and Tsukamurella in the oral and cloacal samples taken from ball pythons is of potential concern for vertical and horizontal transmission, given that recent scientific literature reports pathogenic species belonging to these genera (Fig. 1, Table 1).
The relatively high frequency of ASVs assigned to the genus Lysobacter – 80% (n = 8) of oral and cloacal samples from ball pythons – is consistent with a recent report of isolates from the trachea of a ball python suffering from respiratory tract infection [Lysobacterpythonis sp. nov. (Busse et al. 2019)]. Lysobacter spp. have been described as “ubiquitous inhabitants of soil and water” (Christensen and Cook 1978) making the soil from the dens of wild caught pythons a potential source of infection.
The absence of ASVs assigned to the genera Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Lysobacter, Proteus, and Tsukamurella in the oral and rectal samples taken from mice used to feed ball pythons suggests that their diet was not a source of infection in this commercial operation, at least on the days of sampling, for these particular genera. Nonetheless, a much larger sample of mice is needed to determine the true bacterial status of the rodents that are typically used to feed “ranched” ball pythons when in captivity.
The presence of ASVs assigned to the genera Clostridium, Escherichia, Moraxella, and Stenotrophomonas in the oral and rectal samples taken from mice used to feed ball pythons suggests that these mice represent a potential reservoir of infection, for these particular genera, that could impact negatively on the health of wild caught ball pythons (i.e., gravid females) and their progeny. Other potential sources of environmental contamination include other captive amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals that are traded by python farms (cf. Bell et al. 2004), as well as free ranging birds and small mammals (including rodents), which were observed on the farm.
Ball python production systems in West Africa have the potential to encourage disease transmission and the evolution of increased pathogen virulence. Python farms that practice the “ranching” of ball pythons operate at high stocking densities and with poor hygiene measures, where animals are sourced from geographically and ecologically diverse areas with minimal quarantine. These practices can increase pathogen exposure and lower barriers to transmission (Stenglein et al. 2014).
Furthermore, the ball python is the most traded CITES-listed live wild animal currently being exported from Africa, with more than 963,334 snakes exported from Togo alone between 1978 and 2017 (D’Cruze et al. 2020). Commercial breeders in importing countries (predominantly the USA and countries of the EU) also operate at high stocking densities and commonly attend trade shows, where animals from different sources are juxtaposed (Stenglein et al. 2014).
Limitations
The present study was restricted to 20 samples taken from five snakes and five mice at one of the seven python farms currently operating in Togo. Furthermore, it reports only on assigned bacterial genera identified as possessing pathogenic species that are known to have affected ball pythons (as reported by recent scientific literature); thus, this study is not a comprehensive or exhaustive list of genera that may contain zoonotic pathogens. Only 15% of the ASVs in our samples were assigned to genera of concern (as reported in the literature), while other potentially pathogenic genera may be present and could be identified by further analysis.
Species level identification could not be achieved with the samples in this preliminary assessment due to the short length of the targeted 16S rRNA region, which may be indistinguishable among species and/or strains (a low level taxonomic rank used at the intraspecific level) (Bulman et al. 2018; Osawa et al. 2015). Future studies could overcome this limitation and improve taxonomic resolution by using more sensitive techniques, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) with species-specific primers (Osawa et al. 2015).
Similarly, the present study did not distinguish between pathogenic and non-pathogenic ASVs. This is an important distinction, since the same species of bacteria can act as a harmless commensal, as well as a dangerous pathogen (e.g., Escherichiacoli) (Proença et al. 2017). To overcome this limitation, future studies should adopt a highly targeted and individual approach per species [e.g., as taken by Delannoy et al. (2017) who detected pathogenic strains of Escherichiacoli using a qPCR assay that target the K1 capsule]. Similar analyses should also look to target other pathogen types (e.g., viruses) in “ranched” ball pythons and other wild animal species held in captivity at python farms.
We recognize that the present study represents a preliminary evaluation that should be treated as an initial indicator of both the bacteria present in commercial python farms in West Africa and their potential involvement in zoonotic disease. However, given the international scope, large scale, and national wild release component of the “ranching” process that currently underpins commercial trade of live ball pythons, we believe that these initial findings provide an important insight into the potential for vertical and horizontal bacterial transmission and highlight the need for further research.
Recommendations
Additional surveillance of ball pythons, both in the wild and in captivity at python farms in West Africa, will shed light on whether this type of commercial activity increases pathogen exposure and lowers barriers to transmission. However, in light of other management concerns (Auliya et al. 2020; D’Cruze et al. 2020), and as a precautionary measure, it is strongly advised that farms maintaining reptiles and other wildlife adjust to standard hygiene and quarantine measures, (e.g., biosecurity and disease surveillance practices [cf. Woodford 2000]) to minimize horizontal and vertical transfer.
Biosecurity measures should also be applied to snakes that are being released back into the wild as part of the “ranching” system in Togo. Theoretically, when they are properly released within an area of its indigenous range, this type of wild population “reinforcement” can improve the conservation status of the focal species (IUCN/SSC 2013). However, the IUCN/SSC (2013) recommends effective monitoring as an essential activity, and that reinforcement efforts should include the assessment of disease, welfare conditions, and mortality to maximise positive conservation outcomes.
Biosecurity surveillance practices should extend to importing countries. Such initiatives should also aim to inform those who trade and own ball python of the potential risks associated with zoonotic infection. Providing an appropriate environment and adequate nutrition for ball pythons is also important for maintaining their health. Washing of hands after handling ball pythons is strongly recommended (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2018) and they are inappropriate pets for immunocompromised owners and in households with young children (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2018).
Conclusion
This survey represents the first investigation into the epidemiology of bacterial genera at a commercial ball python farm in West Africa. This study was developed through the opportunity to collect samples during a broader official scientific review. It is recommended that further research should be carried out at python farms in Benin, Ghana and Togo. These studies should look to fully assess the species diversity, relative abundance, and pathogenic status of any bacteria (and other types of pathogen such as viruses) present in “ranched” ball pythons and the rodents that are used to feed them.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the CITES Management Authorities of Togo (Mr. Okoumassou Kotchikpa) who facilitated the access to python farms. Thanks especially to Kinam Kombiagnou (Directeur de l’Elevage, Ministère de l’Agriculture, de l’Elevage et de la Pêche) for issuing the relevant permit. We further thank all farm owners who accepted the examination of the specimens and the sampling of swabs. Furthermore, the help of the Master students in Ecology and Wildlife Management was indispensable for us during fieldwork. We sincerely thank Agbo-Zegue NGO for providing logistical support. Jodie Bates, Emma Coulthard, Mark Auliya, David Megson and Jennifer Rowntree received a grant from World Animal Protection to carry out this research. We also sincerely thank Becky Dharmpaul, Jennah Green, John Norrey, and Laura Norrey for their assistance in reviewing the existing scientific literature and Damian Rivett for invaluable laboratory supervision.
ReferencesAPPA [American Pet Products Association](2019) National Pet Owners Survey 2017–2018. http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp [Accessed on 11 November 2019]ArenaPCSteedmanCWarwickC (2012) Amphibian and reptile pet markets in the EU: an investigation and assessment. Animal Protection Agency, Animal Public, International Animal Rescue, Eurogroup for Wildlife and Laboratory Animals, Fundación para la Adopción, el Apadrinamiento y la Defensa de los Animales, 52.AuliyaM (2003) Hot trade in cool creatures: A review of the live reptile trade in the European Union in the 1990s with a focus on Germany. TRAFFIC Europe, Brussels, Belgium.AuliyaMHofmannSSegniagbetoGHAssouDRonfotDAstrinJJForatSKetohGKKD’CruzeN (2020) The first genetic assessment of wild and farmed ball pythons (Reptilia, Serpentes, Pythonidae) in southern Togo.38: 37–59. https://doi. org/10.3897/natureconservation.38.49478BellDRobertonSHunterPR (2004) Animal origins of SARS coronavirus: Possible links with the international trade in small carnivores. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.359(1447): 1107–1114. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1492BošnjakIZdravkovićNČolovićSRanđelovićSGalićNRadojičićMŠeklerMAleksić-KovačevićSKrnjaićD (2016) Neglected zoonosis – The Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in pet reptiles in Serbia.73: 980–982. https://doi.org/10.2298/VSP160809222BBulmanSRMcDougalRLHillKLearG (2018) Opportunities and limitations for DNA metabarcoding in Australasian plant-pathogen biosecurity.47(5): 467–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-018-0579-3BushERBakerSEMacdonaldDW (2014) Global trade in exotic pets 2006–2012.28(3): 663–676. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12240BusseHJHuptasCBaumgardtSLoncaricISpergserJSchererSWenningMKämpferP (2019) Proposal of Lysobacterpythonis sp. nov. isolated from royal pythons (Pythonregius).42: 326–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2019.02.002CallahanB (2019) DADA2 Pipeline Tutorial (1.12) https://benjjneb.github.io/dada2/tutorial.html [Accessed on 01 September 2019]CallahanBJMcMurdiePJRosenMJHanAWJohnsonAJAHolmesSP (2016) DADA2: High-resolution sample inference from Illumina amplicon data.13(7): 581–583. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.3869CanOED’CruzeNMacdonaldDW (2019) Dealing in deadly pathogens taking stock of the legal trade in live wildlife and potential risks to human health. Global Ecology and Conservation 17: e00515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00515CaporasoJGLauberCLWaltersWABerg-LyonsDHuntleyJFiererNOwensSMBetleyJFraserLBauerMGormleyNGilbertJASmithGKnightR (2012) Ultra-high-throughput microbial community analysis on the Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms.6(8): 1621–1624. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2012.8Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) Multistate Outbreak of Salmonellaagbeni Infections Linked to Pet Turtles, 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/agbeni-08-17/index.html [Accessed 19/12/2018]ChaumeilPAMussigAHugenholtzPParksDH (2019) GTDB-Tk: A toolkit to classify genomes with the Genome Taxonomy Database. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btz848ChristensenPCookFD (1978) Lysobacter, a new genus of nonfruiting, gliding bacteria with a high base ratio.28: 367–393. https://doi.org/10.1099/00207713-28-3-367CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora](2019) CITES glossary https://www.cites.org/eng/resources/terms/glossary.php#r [Accessed on 11 November 2019]D’CruzeNHarringtonLAAssouDRonfotDMacdonaldDWSegniagbetoGHAuliyaM (2020) Searching for snakes: Ball python hunting in southern Togo, West Africa.38: 13–36. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.38.47864DelannoySBeutinLMariani-KurkdjianPFleissABonacorsiSFachP (2017) The Escherichiacoli serogroup O1 and O2 lipopolysaccharides are Encoded by Multiple O-antigen gene clusters. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 7: 30. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2017.00030Government of Canada (2019) https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/public-health-notices/2019/outbreak-salmonella-infections-snakes-rodents.htmlGreenJCoulthardEMegsonDNorreyJNorreyLRowntreeJKBatesJDharmpaulBAuliyaMD’CruzeN (2020) Blind trading: A literature review of research addressing the welfare of ball pythons in the exotic pet trade.10(2): 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10020193Illumina (2019) https://support.illumina.com [Accessed on 11 November 2019]IneichI (2006) Les élevages de reptiles et de scorpions au Bénin, Togo et Ghana, plus particulièrement la gestion des quotas d’exportation et la définition des codes ‘source’ des spécimens exportés. Rapport d’étude réalisée pour le Secrétariat de la CITES.251: 1–113.IUCN/SSC (2013) IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland, 57 pp.JensenTJAuliyaMBurgessNDAustPWPertoldiCStrandJ (2018) Exploring the international trade in African snakes not listed on CITES: highlighting the role of the internet and social media.28: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1632-9KareshWBCookRABennettELNewcombJ (2005) Wildlife trade and global disease emergence.11(7): 1000–1002. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid1107.050194MitchellMA (2009) History of exotic pets. Manual of exotic pet practice, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-141600119-5.50004-4MitchellMAShaneSMRoyA (1999) Detection of Salmonellae in the green iguana using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Proc ARAV, Columbus, OH, 115–117.MitchellMAShaneSM (2000) Preliminary findings of Salmonella spp. in captive green iguanas (Iguanaiguana) and their environment.45: 297–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-5877(00)00124-0MorensDMFolkersGKFauciA (2004) The challenge of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.430(6996): 242–249. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02759OIE (2017) The OIE Worldwide Monitoring System for Wild Animal Diseases http://www.oie.int/wahis_2/public/wahidwild.php#/ (Accessed 1 November 2019).OsawaKShigemuraKShiraiHKatoAOkuyaYJikimotoTArakawaSFujisawaMShirakawaT (2015) Bacterial identification using ssrA encoding transfer-messenger RNA.46: 720–727.ParksDHChuvochinaMWaiteDWRinkeCSkarshewskiAChaumeilPAHugenholtzP (2018) A standardized bacterial taxonomy based on genome phylogeny substantially revises the tree of life.36(10): 996–1004. https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4229PFMA (2017) PFMAUK pet population statistics. Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association. http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-population-2017 [Accessed 14/02/2018]ProençaJTBarralDCGordoI (2017) Commensal-to-pathogen transition: One-single transposon insertion results in two pathoadaptive traits in Escherichiacoli -macrophage interaction.7(1): 4504. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04081-1R Core Team (2019) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https://www.R-project.org/RobinsonJEGriffithsRASt. JohnFAVRobertsDL (2015) Dynamics of the global trade in live reptiles: Shifting trends in production and consequences for sustainability.184: 42–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.12.019RogersGBCuthbertsonLHoffmanLRWingPAPopeCHooftmanDAPLilleyAKOliverACarrollMPBruceKDvan der GastCJ (2013) Reducing bias in bacterial community analysis of lower respiratory infections.7(4): 697–706. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2012.145SmithKFBehrensMSchloegelLMMaranoNBurgielSDaszakP (2009) Reducing the Risks of the Wildlife Trade.324(5927): 594–595. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1174460StengleinMDJacobsonERWozniakEJWellehanJFXKincaidAGordonMPorterBFBaumgartnerWStahlSKelleyKTownerJSDerisiJL (2014) Ball python nidovirus: A candidate etiologic agent for severe respiratory disease in Pythonregius. mBio 5(5): 1–16. http://derisilab.ucsf.edu/pdfs/mBio-2014-Stenglein-.pdfhttps://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01484-14UNEP (2019) The Species+ Website. Nairobi, Kenya. Compiled by UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK. www.speciesplus.net [Accessed 07/01/2019]WarwickCArenaPLindleySJessopMSteedmanC (2013) Assessing reptile welfare using behavioural criteria.35(3): 123–131. https://doi.org/10.1136/inp.f1197WoodfordMH (2000) Quarantine and health screening protocols for wildlife prior to translocation and release in to the wild. Published jointly by the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Veterinary Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland, the Office International des Epizooties (OIE), Paris, France, Care for the Wild, U.K., and the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians, Switzerland. http://www.iucnwhsg.org/sites/default/files/Quarantine%20and%20Health%20Screening%20Protocol.pdfAppendix 1
PCR conditions for amplicon preparation using the Illumina two-step protocol.
Genera of bacteria identified in swab samples of mice and ball pythons (Pythonregius)
Excel sheet
https://binary.pensoft.net/file/409655This dataset is made available under the Open Database License (http://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/). The Open Database License (ODbL) is a license agreement intended to allow users to freely share, modify, and use this Dataset while maintaining this same freedom for others, provided that the original source and author(s) are credited.Neil D’Cruze, Jodie Bates, Délagnon Assou, Delphine Ronfot, Emma Coulthard, Gabriel Hoinsoudé Segniagbeto, Mark Auliya, David Megson, Jennifer Rowntree