##  [Multilocus Sequence Typing of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae Detected in Dall's Sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) and Caribou (Rangifer tarandus grantii) in Alaska, USA](/resource/multilocus-sequence-typing-mycoplasma-ovipneumoniae-detected-dalls-sheep-ovis-dalli-dalli) 

Organization

[Government of Alaska](/organization/government-alaska)

 

 

Resource Type

[Peer reviewed article](/taxonomy/term/37)

 

 

Author(s)

Camilla Lieske

Robert Gerlach

Marla Francis

Kimberlee Beckmen

 

 

Original Authors

Camilla Lieske

Robert Gerlach

Marla Francis

Kimberlee Beckmen

 

 

Resource Date:

July

2022

 

 

*This resource is available on an external database and may require a paid subscription to access it. It is included on the CCLM to support our goal of capturing and sharing the breadth of all available knowledge pertaining to Boreal Caribou, Wetlands, and Land Management.*

In 2018, *Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae* was detected in free-ranging caribou (*Rangifer tarandus grantii*) and Dall's sheep (*Ovis dalli dalli*) in Alaska, US. Evaluation of additional nasal swabs and archived tissues for *M. ovipneumoniae* suggested that this bacterium was widespread geographically and temporally in populations of both species. Multilocus sequence typing of four loci identified a single, novel, apparently stable strain type of *M. ovipneumoniae* in 11 Dall's sheep and 15 caribou in multiple populations across Alaska sampled over a period of 15 yr (2004-19). This strain type differs from those detected to date from wild or domestic sheep (*Ovis aries*) or goats (*Capra aegagrus hircus*) tested in Alaska or the lower 48 states. Although the population health implications of this strain are unknown, it has not been associated with population-wide mortality events. The presence of this strain does not decrease the potential risk from the introduction of a pathogenic *M. ovipneumoniae* strain associated with severe disease in other wildlife populations; therefore, continued monitoring for signs of disease and additional strains is important.