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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #375806
Research Project: Ecological Reservoirs and Intervention Strategies to Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Cattle and Swine

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: Differential carbon utilization by bacteria in the soil surrounding and on swine carcasses with dipteran access delayed

Author
item HEO, CHONG CHIN - Universiti Teknologi Mara (UITM)
item Crippen, Tawni - Tc
item THORNTON, STEPHANIE - Texas A&M University
item TOMBERLIN, JEFFERY - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Pure and Applied Geophysics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/16/2020
Publication Date: 11/3/2020
Citation: Heo, C., Crippen, T.L., Thornton, S.N., Tomberlin, J.K. 2020. Differential carbon utilization by bacteria in the soil surrounding and on swine carcasses with dipteran access delayed. Pure and Applied Geophysics. 178:717-734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-020-02608-8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-020-02608-8

Interpretive Summary: Mass mortality events can saturate an agricultural site with decomposing remains. We lack an understanding of such events and how they disrupt the local system. The normal behavior of insects that feed on carcasses can be changed and their laying of eggs delayed. This study investigated the microbes present on the carcasses and in the soil when insects are delayed from accessing the carcass. Field trials were conducted during the summers of 2013 and 2014 in Texas, USA. Three groups of pig carcasses were assessed: those where access 1) to the carcass by insects was immediate; 2) was delayed 7 days; or 3) was delayed 14 days. Bacterial function and fly activity on the carcasses were different between the groups suggesting a bacterial interaction with fly activity. In contrast, bacterial function in the soil did not show consistent differences between the groups, probably due to differences in soil factors. Such information is valuable to producers to control bacterial pathogen movement by flies and when determining where and how to dispose of both normal production waste, as well as carcasses from a mass die-off during a disease outbreak.

Technical Abstract: Mass mortality events can saturate an environment with decomposing remains. We lack an understanding of such perturbations and the extent of disruption imposed on the local ecosystem. During such instances, normal patterns of colonization and decomposition of remains by necrophagous arthropods can be retarded resulting in delayed colonization due to the proximity of multiple corpses. Therefore, this study was initiated to investigate the impact of carcasses in close proximity with delayed arthropod access, on its associated microbial metabolic community profiles and those in the soil immediately under, and adjacent to the remains. Field trials were conducted during the summers of 2013 and 2014 in Texas, USA. Three groups of pig carcasses were accessed: those immediately colonized by dipteran species (i.e., primary invertebrate consumers of carrion) and those experiencing delayed dipteran access by 7 or 14 days. Bacterial function on the remains, in terms of carbon utilization, was significantly different between the carcass groups suggesting an interkingdom correlation between bacteria and dipteran activity. In contrast, microbial function in the soil was inconsistent between trials indicating stochasticity within the system, probably due to differences in abiotic factors.