ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2014
Interactions between Bacillus anthracis and plants may promote anthrax transmission.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Global surveillance of anthrax outbreaks in domestic animals and humans: A retrospective secondary analysis of reported cases over two decades (2005-2024).One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Molecular Characterization, SNP-Based Strain Profiling, and Seroprevalence ofMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Life at the borderlands: microbiomes of interfaces critical to One Health.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Season of death, pathogen persistence and wildlife behaviour alter number of anthrax secondary infections from environmental reservoirs.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- One Health Assessment ofMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- Article
- The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence-transmission relationships.Royal Society open science · 2021Review
- ModelingInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Review
- The elephant-livestock interface modulates anthrax suitability in India.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Potential Bacillus anthracis Risk Zones for Male Plains Bison ( Bison bison bison) in Southwestern Montana, USA.Journal of wildlife diseases · 2019Article
- Climatic influence on anthrax suitability in warming northern latitudes.Scientific reports · 2018Article
- Isolation and Identification of Endophytic Bacteria with Plant Growth Promoting Activity and Biocontrol Potential from Wild Pistachio Trees.The plant pathology journal · 2018Article
- Large Blooms ofmBio · 2018Article
- Decoupling environmental effects and host population dynamics for anthrax, a classic reservoir-driven disease.PloS one · 2018Article
- Temporal dynamics in microbial soil communities at anthrax carcass sites.BMC microbiology · 2017Article
- Prevalence of plant beneficial and human pathogenic bacteria isolated from salad vegetables in India.BMC microbiology · 2017Article
- Lethal exposure: An integrated approach to pathogen transmission via environmental reservoirs.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Microevolution of Anthrax from a Young Ancestor (M.A.Y.A.) Suggests a Soil-Borne Life Cycle of Bacillus anthracis.PloS one · 2015Article
- Fatal attraction: vegetation responses to nutrient inputs attract herbivores to infectious anthrax carcass sites.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Environmental reservoirs are essential in the maintenance and transmission of anthrax but are poorly characterized. The anthrax agent, Bacillus anthracis was long considered an obligate pathogen that is dormant and passively transmitted in the environment. However, a growing number of laboratory studies indicate that, like some of its close relatives, B. anthracis has some activity outside of its vertebrate hosts. Here we show in the field that B. anthracis has significant interactions with a grass that could promote anthrax spore transmission to grazing hosts. Using a local, virulent strain of B. anthracis, we performed a field experiment in an enclosure within a grassland savanna. We found that B. anthracis increased the rate of establishment of a native grass (Enneapogon desvauxii) by 50% and that grass seeds exposed to blood reached heights that were 45% taller than controls. Further we detected significant effects of E. desvauxii, B. anthracis, and their interaction on soil bacterial taxa richness and community composition. We did not find any evidence for multiplication or increased longevity of B. anthracis in bulk soil associated with grass compared to controls. Instead interactions between B. anthracis and plants may result in increased host grazing and subsequently increased transmission to hosts.
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