Microflora of the interdigital cleft in healthy european bison (Bison bonasus)

Purpose of research was to identify the cause of resistance of free-living bison to infectious hoof diseases (interdigital dermatitis, foot rot, necrobacteriosis). It was hypothesized that resistance is a consequence of a certain composition of the microflora of the interdigital space in free-living bison. The object of the study was bison of the Turmon Nature Reserve (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania). For the first time, a study of the normal microflora of the interdigital space in bison was conducted. By means of a comprehensive bacteriological analysis, nine species of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) were isolated, eight of which were associated with hooves for the first time: Corynebacterium spp., Klebsiella oxytoca, Escherichia coli, Hafnia alvei, Listeria monocytogenes, Chaetomium globosum, Sporothrix schenckii, Microsporum spp. and Fusarium spp. These are mostly normal representatives of the animal’s microflora, or geophiles, capable of causing opportunistic diseases under certain conditions. All bacteria found, with the exception of Corynebacterium, are facultative anaerobes. Bacteria that play a key role in hoof pathology have not found.