Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42919174›Full record

ArticleBMC microbiology2026

Comparative genomic and phenotypic analysis of human- and dairy cattle -derived Streptococcus agalactiae reveals potential cross-species infection capability.

Lin Jiang, Tingting Sun, Jing Liu, Xinyu Wang, Jin Zhou, Xiubo Li, Fei Xu

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Lin JiangInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China.
Tingting SunInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China.
Jing LiuInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China.
Xinyu WangInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China.
Jin ZhouKey Laboratory of Chemical Safety and Health, National Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100000, China.
Xiubo LiInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China. lixiubo@caas.cn.
Fei XuInstitute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 12 South Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100000, China. xufei@caas.cn.

Funding

Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program ASTIP, No. IFR-06National Key R&D Program 2023YFD1800902
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStreptococcus agalactiae is an opportunistic Gram-positive pathogen that can infect humans, dairy cattle, and other animals, posing a potential zoonotic risk. In this study, whole-genome sequencing was performed on 40 GBS strains isolated from dairy cows. The results showed high homology among strains collected from the same farm. Based on these findings, two representative dairy cattle-derived strains and one human-derived strain were selected for comparative whole-genome analysis to identify differences in antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Additionally, we characterized the antibiotic resistance phenotypes, hemolytic phenotypes, invasion capacity, and the levels of oxidative stress markers and inflammatory factors in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) during infection for all three strains.

resultThe three strains HB27, HB31, and RW exhibited close phylogenetic relationships. All showed strong resistance to sulfonamide and aminoglycoside antibiotics but remained susceptible to cephalosporins, quinolones, and macrolides. The mefA gene was present in RW but absent in HB27 and HB31. RW exhibited higher hemolytic activity and cylE mRNA expression levels than HB27 and HB31, and the pilA and pilB genes were also present only in RW. HB31 demonstrated significantly faster invasion rates than HB27 and RW before the 2‑h invasion time point. The effects of the three strains on antioxidant markers and the protein and mRNA expression of inflammatory factors in BMECs were consistent, indicating that the human-derived S. agalactiae possesses the capacity to infect BMECs.

conclusionAlthough human- and dairy cattle-derived GBS differ in virulence-associated genes and hemolytic activity, the human strain invades BMECs in vitro and induces host responses similar to those of dairy cattle strains. These findings suggest that human-derived GBS may have the potential for cross-species infection. To date, most studies on human- and dairy cattle-derived GBS have focused primarily on epidemiology. Even when addressing whether GBS is a zoonotic pathogen, direct evidence of cross-species transmission mechanisms remains limited. This study provides in vitro evidence that human-derived GBS can directly infect BMECs. However, whether cross-species transmission between human- and dairy cattle-derived GBS requires repeated exposure or can occur following a single exposure requires further investigation.

Indexed as

Cattle DiseasesStreptococcal InfectionsStreptococcus agalactiaeAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsCattleDrug Resistance, BacterialEpithelial CellsFemaleGenome, BacterialGenomicsHumansMicrobial Sensitivity TestsPhenotypePhylogenyAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacterial ProteinsVirulence FactorsDrug resistance geneStreptococcus agalactiaeVirulence factorZoonotic diseaseβ-hemolysin

Identifiers

PMID42919174

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.