Multisystemic Enterococcosis in Brown Anoles (Anolis sagrei) from Florida, USA

Beginning in July 2019, numerous free-ranging brown anoles (Anolis sagrei), an invasive lizard species in Florida, USA, were reported with large, soft, subcutaneous masses and disfiguring facial swellings. Postmortem evaluations of six affected animals, including cytology, histology, and electron mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of wildlife diseases Vol. 59; no. 2; pp. 337 - 341
Main Authors Caudill, Megan, Logan, Tracey D., Childress, April, Guzman-Vargas, Veronica, Enge, Kevin M., Shender, Lisa A., Ossiboff, Robert J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wildlife Disease Association 01.04.2023
Subjects
Animals
Australia
Bacteria
cocci
culture
cytology
facial swelling
Florida - epidemiology
histology
Introduced Species
lizard
Lizards
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
subcutaneous mass
Florida
Australia
cytology
histology
culture
Bacteria
cocci
lizard
facial swelling
subcutaneous mass
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Summary:Beginning in July 2019, numerous free-ranging brown anoles (Anolis sagrei), an invasive lizard species in Florida, USA, were reported with large, soft, subcutaneous masses and disfiguring facial swellings. Postmortem evaluations of six affected animals, including cytology, histology, and electron microscopy, identified the presence of myriad chain-forming coccoid bacteria surrounded by a prominent clear capsule and abundant lightly basophilic matrix material with minimal associated granulomatous inflammation and effacement of normal tissue. Standard PCR and sequencing of the lesions revealed 100% nucleotide identity to Enterococcus lacertideformus. This bacterium was first observed in 2014 as the cause of a severe, multisystemic infection in several species of lizards (geckos and skinks) on Christmas Island, an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. Previously, analysis of E. lacertideformus had been hindered by an inability to grow the bacterium in standard culture conditions. We successfully cultured the organism on primary anole kidney cells. Given the growing recognition of host species diversity and geographic distribution noted for this organism, there is potential concern for spread to native North American lizards, especially the green anole (Anolis carolinensis), whose population numbers have apparently decreased due to introduced brown anoles.
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ISSN:0090-3558
1943-3700
DOI:10.7589/JWD-D-22-00045