LCMS used in bovine study

Quantitative analysis processes have been used to investigate the role the NarQP two-component signal transduction system plays in response to the presence of nitrate for the bovine pathogen Mannheimia haemolytica A1.

A team from the University of Guelph in Canada explained that M.haemolytica A1 is normally found in the upper respiratory tract of healthy calves, according to the BMC Research Notes report.

However, it is an opportunistic pathogen that can lead to bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) and bovine pneumonic pasteurellosis (BPP), both of which can be fatal.

Usually BPP does not occur until after the transportation of calves from farm to feedlot, providing it with the moniker of 'shipping fever'.

Using ISO-DALT 2D electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry the team tested proteins from a narP mutant and the parent SH1217 grown with or without NaNO3 supplement.

The results suggested that NarPMh acts as an important regulator of the expression of a small set of proteins in response to nitrate availability, something which may contribute to the prevalence of M.haemolytica A1 during pathogenesis of BPP.

Posted by Fiona Griffiths