Effects of vaccination with Brucella melitensis, strains Rev 1 ΔeryCD and Rev 1, on the reproductive system of young male goats

•Kids are not vaccinated against brucellosis.•Strain B. melitensis Rev 1 ΔeryCD was not isolated from vaccinated kids.•Rev 1 vaccine was only isolated from 1/15 vaccinated kids.•Vaccination in males does not cause lesions in the reproductive organs. The present study evaluates the effects of vaccination with Brucella melitensis strains Rev 1 ΔeryCD and Rev 1 on the reproductive system of male goats. Three groups, each of them consisting of 15 six-month-old brucellosis-free male goats, were studied. The first group was vaccinated with the Rev 1 ΔeryCD strain, the second group received Rev 1 and the third group was inoculated with sterile physiological saline solution. The dose of both strains was of 1×109CFU/ml. Over the course of the five months of this study, three males from each group were euthanized every month. Their reproductive tracts, spleens, and lymph nodes were collected to analyze serology, bacteriology PCR, histology, and immunohistochemistry. Results show that vaccination with B. melitensis strains Rev 1 ΔeryCD and Rev 1 does not harm the reproductive system of male goats. Strain B. melitensis Rev 1 ΔeryCD displayed a lower capacity to colonize the reproductive tract than strain Rev 1, which was attributed to its limited catabolic action toward erythritol. La presente investigación evalúa los efectos de la vacunación con Brucella melitensis cepas Rev 1 ΔeryCD y Rev 1 en el sistema reproductivo de machos caprinos. Se estudiaron tres grupos de caprinos, integrado cada grupo por 15 machos libres de brucelosis de seis meses de edad. El primer grupo fue vacunado con la cepa Rev 1 ΔeryCD, el segundo grupo recibió Rev 1 y el tercer grupo recibió solución salina fisiológica estéril (control). El título de las dos cepas inoculadas fue de 1×109UFC/ml. Tres machos de cada grupo fueron sacrificados cada mes durante los cinco meses de este estudio. Se recolectaron el tracto reproductivo, el bazo y los ganglios linfáticos para análisis de serología, bacteriología, PCR, histología e inmunohistoquímica. Los resultados muestran que la vacunación con las cepas Rev 1 ΔeryCD y Rev 1 de B. melitensis no causa daño al sistema reproductivo de los machos cabríos. La cepa B. melitensis Rev 1 ΔeryCD mostró menos capacidad para colonizar el tracto reproductivo que la cepa Rev 1 debido a su acción catabólica limitada hacia el eritritol.