Texas Tech University System

Disease-associatedstreptococcus Suisis a Costly Disease in Swine Production Caused by Thes. Suisbacterium. Swine Producers Face Major Challenges in Controllings. Suisdue to Its Endemic Nature, the Lack of Effective Vaccines, the Presence of Commensals. Suisstrains, and Potential Antimicrobial Resistance. Veterinarians Do Not Fully Understand Why Some Pigs Develop Disease While Their Littermates Remain Healthy Carriers. One Hypothesis Is That Respiratory Microbes (i.e., the Microbiome) Interact With Different Co-circulatings. Suisstrains in a Temporally Dynamic Manner That Influences Disease Risk. However, There Is Limited Knowledge About the Interactions Between Disease-causing Strains Ofs. Suisand the Microbiome. This Project Will Address This Knowledge Gap by Investigating the Association Between the Nasopharyngeal Microbiome and Disease, Detecting Co-circulatings. Suisstrains, and Identifying Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence-associated Genes and Their Relationship to Disease Outcomes. Microbiome Sequencing, Advanced Molecular Enrichment Metagenomics, and Whole-genome Sequencing of Multiple Cultured Isolates From Nasopharyngeal Samples Will Be Performed. These Data, Along With Farm Management Factors, Will Be Used in Multivariable Modeling and Network Analysis to Determine Comprehensive Risk Factors for Disease. the Results Will Provide New Insights Into the Causes Ofs. Suis Disease, Ultimately Supporting Improved Disease Control on Farms, Enhancing Pig Health and Productivity.