Histophilus somni

Shivakumara Siddaramappa

Thomas J. Inzana

Histophilus somni is a commensal and an opportunistic bacterial pathogen associated with multisystemic diseases in cattle and sheep. Some strains of H. somni isolated from the genital tract of cattle are biochemically and serologically similar to the pathogenic strains, but are relatively innocuous. Several virulence factors/mechanisms have been identified in H. somni, of which the phase-variable lipooligosaccharide, induction of apoptosis of host cells, intraphagocytic survival, and immunoglobulin Fc-binding proteins have been well characterized. The genomes of H. somni pneumonia strain 2336 and preputial strain 129Pt have also been sequenced, and comparative analyses of these genomes have provided novel insights into the role of horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of the respective strains. Continued analyses of the genomes of H. somni strains and comparing them to the newly sequenced genomes of other bacteria facilitated the identification of a putative integrative and conjugative element (designated ICEHso2336) encoding tetracycline resistance. Comparative genomics also showed that the uptake signal sequence (5'-AAGTGCGGT) of Haemophilus influenzae is abundant in H. somni and provided a genetic basis for the recalcitrance of some strains of this species to natural transformation. The post-genomic era for H. somni offered an opportunity for the functional characterization of genes identified by computational methods. This opportunity has been realized to a great extent by transcriptomic studies that have identified several small noncoding RNAs and new genes. These new discoveries and developments are expected to stimulate further in-depth investigations of H. somni, especially from the systems biology viewpoint.