TAHD lesion material in sheep model Metagenome

A severe hoof disease is affecting wild free-roaming elk in the western United States. As the disease progresses, affected animals become very lame, and hooves can become deformed, overgrown, and completely sloughed. The syndrome can make animals vulnerable to malnutrition, predation and early death. Spiral shaped bacteria in the Treponema genus have been found consistently with this hoof disease and are the basis for it being named Treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD). To demonstrate an infectious bacterial disease for the syndrome, we took lesion material from wild elk and evaluated it in a sheep digital dermatitis model, a similar disease that affects livestock. By 4-weeks following inoculation with elk lesion tissue, most sheep developed characteristic lesions. Further analysis recovered several Treponema species associated with the elk hoof disease in the induced sheep lesions as well as other bacteria also associated with elk lesions. Understanding Treponeme associated hoof disease as a transmissible, infectious bacterial disease is the first step for developing diagnostics and for facilitating science-driven wild elk management decisions.