Diagnostic test results for Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae for samples collected during investigations of wildlife mortalities, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, Nunavut, Canada, 2021 - 2024
GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02179
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Summary
Abstract:
Researchers from the University of Calgary and Government of Nunavut, Canada, and from the University of Glasgow, UK, conducted an investigation into muskox mortalities on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg islands, Nunavut, Canada, from 2021 - 2024. During this time, samples were collected for diagnostic testing for the bacterium Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae. Tests were conducted for bacterial isolation (culture) using selective media with confirmatory qPCR, and/or direct qPCR conducted on DNA extracted directly from samples. The majority of samples were collected at or near muskox carcass sites. Carcasses were in a varying range of freshness; samples were collected based on availability, and included tissues, faeces, bones (for marrow collection), and soil below the carcass. Sampling was also conducted from other potential host species of the bacterium, including other ungulates, carnivores, birds, rodents and lagomorphs, insects on or near carcasses, and from the wider environment (water, sediment and vegetation). This dataset comprises culture and/or qPCR results, along with associated metadata (including host species, date and location of collection), for these various samples tested.
This study was supported financially and in kind by the Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom (CINUK) Arctic Research Programme (NE/X002616/1, UKRI; 10034609, Polar); the Government of Nunavut Department of Environment; the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP, Project #s 30622, 63222, 32423, 62523, and 62924); the Van Sloun Foundation; the Arthur French Family Foundation; Polar Knowledge Canada (NST-2122-0049), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada - Canada Research Chair in Arctic One Health (NSERC CRC, CRC-2020-00315); Canada North Outfitting, NSERC Discovery Grants Program - Northern Research Supplement (RGPNS-2021-02796); Weber Arctic; Apex Geoscience; American West Metals Ltd.; and Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.
Keywords:
Arctic, Canada, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, PCR, culture, diagnostic, muskox
Citation
Wooten, M.T., Mavrot, F., Roberto-Charron, A., Fredlund, M., Mullin, T., Christensen, O.A., Schneider, A., Cluff, H.D., Donovan, R., Morrison, B., ... Kutz, S.J. (2026). Diagnostic test results for Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae for samples collected during investigations of wildlife mortalities, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, Nunavut, Canada, 2021 - 2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8d8fdddf-1aa6-47be-a30e-bf66710bc1c4
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Constraints
| Access Constraints: | This data is under embargo until publication of the associated manuscript. |
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| Use Constraints: | This data is governed by the NERC data policy http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy/ and supplied under Open Government Licence v.3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. |
Basic Information
| Creation Date: | 2026-04-15 |
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| Dataset Progress: | Complete |
| Dataset Language: | English |
| ISO Topic Categories: |
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| Parameters: |
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| Personnel: | |
| Name | UK PDC |
| Role(s) | Metadata Author |
| Organisation | British Antarctic Survey |
| Name | McCaide T Wooten |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Calgary |
| Name | Fabien Mavrot |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Calgary |
| Name | Amelie Roberto-Charron |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Government of Nunavut |
| Name | Matthew Fredlund |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Government of Nunavut |
| Name | Tabitha Mullin |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Government of Nunavut |
| Name | Olaf A Christensen |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Government of Nunavut |
| Name | Angela Schneider |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Calgary |
| Name | H Dean Cluff |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Government of the Northwest Territories |
| Name | Ronan Donovan |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | Ronan Donovan Photo & Film |
| Name | Beverly Morrison |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Calgary |
| Name | Eugene Lau |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Name | Taya L Forde |
| Role(s) | Investigator, Technical Contact |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Name | Susan J Kutz |
| Role(s) | Investigator |
| Organisation | University of Calgary |
| Parent Dataset: | N/A |
Additional Information
| Reference: | (Wooten et. al., in prep) Wooten, M.T., Forde, T.L., Roberto-Charron, A. et al. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae clone reemergence in association with a multi-year mass mortality event in high Arctic muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus). Sci Rep 15, 43135 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-27316-y Forde, T., Biek, R., Zadoks, R. et al. Genomic analysis of the multi-host pathogen Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae reveals extensive recombination as well as the existence of three generalist clades with wide geographic distribution. BMC Genomics 17, 461 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-016-2643-0 |
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| Lineage/Methodology: | A range of sample types were collected from field sites on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, Nunavut, Canada, in association with mortalities of muskoxen first observed in 2021. Outbreak investigations are described in Wooten et al., 2025. Samples were collected from muskox carcasses ranging in freshness from a few hours old to several years old. Samples were collected based on availability, and included tissues, faeces, bones (for marrow collection), and soil below the carcass. Several carcass sites were visited over the course of multiple years to assess bacterial persistence over time (Wooten et al., in prep). Moreover, soil was sampled at varying distances from certain carcass sites to ascertain the degree of spread of the bacterium from the carcass into the wider environment. Sampling was also conducted from other potential host species for the bacterium, including ungulates (Peary caribou), carnivores (Arctic foxes and Arctic wolves), various bird species, rodents (collared lemmings) and lagomorphs (Arctic hare). These samples were either from carcasses found dead, from faeces collected from the ground, or via trapping in the case of lemmings. Finally, insects on or near carcasses were collected, either manually or by trapping, and samples were collected from the wider environment (water, sediment and vegetation). For many sample types, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was selectively cultured, after which DNA was extracted from isolates and confirmed to species level by qPCR. To confirm whether E. rhusiopathiae isolates belonged to the 'Arctic clone', isolates were either whole-genome sequenced, or tested with clone-specific qPCR, as described in Wooten et. al., 2025. E. rhusiopathiae clade was assigned for those samples with whole genome sequence data, as described in Forde et al., 2016. For other samples, qPCR was conducted on DNA extracted directly from the sample; for these cycle threshold (Ct) values are provided, with lower values associated with higher pathogen load. |
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Locality
| Temporal Coverage: | |
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| Start Date | 2021-08-21 |
| End Date | 2024-08-15 |
| Spatial Coverage: | |
| Latitude | |
| Southernmost | 78.50883 |
| Northernmost | 81.40542 |
| Longitude | |
| Westernmost | -94.702 |
| Easternmost | -77.29703 |
| Altitude | |
| Min Altitude | N/A |
| Max Altitude | N/A |
| Depth | |
| Min Depth | N/A |
| Max Depth | N/A |
| Location: | |
| Location | Canada |
| Detailed Location | Ellesmere Island |
| Location | Canada |
| Detailed Location | Axel Heiberg Island |
Instrumentation
| Data Collection: | QPCR was conducted on a QuantStudioTM 5 Real-Time PCR thermocycler. Amplification curves were analyzed on the manufacturer's Design & Analysis Software (v1.0). |
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Storage
| Data Storage: | 1x .csv |
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