<i>Capnocytophaga</i> and <i>Neisseria</i> species in the Blood of Stray Dogs from Northern Mexico

Objectives: Knowledge of the diversity of bacteria that are potentially pathogenic to humans in domestic animals is important for public health. Dogs are the closest animal species to humans and carry some species of bacteria that can be transmitted by their bite. Blood is considered a tissue that can reflect an approximation of the general bacterial microbiome of an individual, including that of the oral cavity. In particular, some species of the genera Capnocytophaga and Neisseria have been documented as part of the oral microbiome of the canine mouth. There are reports that both genera cause mild or severe infections in people bitten by dogs. In Mexico, as in many developing countries, millions of stray dogs carry potentially zoonotic bacteria. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the species of Capnocytophaga and Neisseria from blood samples of stray dogs in northern Mexico through next-generation sequencing. Material and Methods: Deoxyribonucleic acid DNA was extracted from blood samples of 12 randomly selected dogs, the V3-V4 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) region was amplified, and the Illumina NovaSeq platform was used for sequencing. The amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) sequences of both genera were compared to those in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database through the basic local alignment search tool, which considers 97% identity as the minimum percentage of identity to accept the species. Results: The species identified were Capnocytophaga cynodegmi, Capnocytophaga catalasegens, Capnocytophaga canimorsus, Neisseria canis, Neisseria perflava, Neisseria weixii, Neisseria weaveri, Neisseria dumasiana, and Neisseria zoodegmatis. Conclusion: Most of these species cause infections following dog bites, but others have only recently been described in hosts other than dogs. It is important to continue using sequencing technologies in animal and public health to increase information, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.