Metagenomic sequencing sheds light on microbes putatively associated with pneumonia-related fatalities of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus )

With emerging infectious disease outbreaks in human, domestic and wild animal populations on the rise, improvements in pathogen characterization and surveillance are paramount for the protection of human and animal health, as well as the conservation of ecologically and economically important wildlife. Genomics offers a range of suitable tools to meet these goals, with metagenomic sequencing facilitating the characterization of whole microbial communities associated with emerging and endemic disease outbreaks. Here, we use metagenomic sequencing in a case-control study to identify microbes in lung tissue associated with newly observed pneumonia-related fatalities in 34 white-tailed deer ( ) in Wisconsin, USA. We identified 20 bacterial species that occurred in more than a single individual. Of these, only was found to substantially differ (in number of detections) between case and control sample groups; however, this difference was not statistically significant. We also detected several bacterial species associated with pneumonia and/or other diseases in ruminants ( , , , , ); however, these species did not substantially differ between case and control sample groups. On average, we detected a larger number of bacterial species in case samples than controls, supporting the potential role of polymicrobial infections in this system. Importantly, we did not detect DNA of viruses or fungi, suggesting that they are not significantly associated with pneumonia in this system. Together, these results highlight the utility of metagenomic sequencing for identifying disease-associated microbes. This preliminary list of microbes will help inform future research on pneumonia-associated fatalities of white-tailed deer.