SRA

Streptococcus suis is ubiquitous in swine and yet only a small percentage of pigs become clinically ill. The objective of this project was to investigate genetic determinants of disease status in S. suis isolates recovered from systemic (blood, meninges, spleen, lymphnode) and non-systemic (tonsil, rectal, etc.) sites of sick and healthy nursery pigs on Ontario farms. Some of these investigations include screening for key genes including virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance genes and other important genomic features such as mobile genetic elements. The results of this project will contribute to the efforts in understanding S. suis virulence mechanisms and the development of infection control methods.