TheMeyerLab

Our lab is interested in the study of pathogens that jointly contribute to the Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in Cattle. BRD is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in dairy and beef cattle. This condition is not caused by a single pathogen but a combination of virus, bacteria and stress. It is well established that viral immune suppression and stress caused by management practices and/or the environment trigger the disease, which enables bacteria to invade the otherwise healthy lower respiratory tract leading to clinical pneumonia. One important trigger of BRD is stress. Among the viruses commonly isolated from clinical cases are bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (bPI3V) or bovine coronavirus (BCoV). Among participating bacteria are Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, or Mycoplasma bovis. However, the challenge is that BRD microbes are endemic and/or commensal respiratory bacteria. Therefore, how and when some of these microbes switch to an invasive lifestyle remains elusive. We study various aspects of individual BRD microbes or as they co-infect the same tissues.