Genetic diversity ofBartonellaspp. in vampire bats from Brazil

Abstract

Recently, an increasing number of Bartonella species have been emerged to cause human diseases. Among animal reservoirs for Bartonella spp., bats stand out due to their high mobility, wide distribution, social behaviour and long‐life span. Although studies on the role of vampire bats in the epidemiology of rabies have been extensively investigated in Latin America, information on the circulation and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in these bat species is scarce. In the present work, 208 vampire bats, namely Desmodus rotundus (the common vampire bat; n = 167), Diphylla ecaudata (the hairy‐legged vampire bat; n = 32) and Diaemus youngii (the white‐winged vampire bat; n = 9) from 15 different states in Brazil were sampled. DNA was extracted from liver tissue samples and submitted to real‐time PCR (qPCR) and conventional PCR (cPCR) assays for Bartonella spp. targeting five genetic loci, followed by phylogenetic and genotype network analyses. Fifty‐one out of 208 liver samples (24.51%) were positive for Bartonella DNA in the ITS real‐time PCR assay [40 (78.43%) of them were from D. rotundus from 11 states, and 11 (21.57%) samples from D. ecaudata from three states. Eleven genotypes were found for each gltA and rpoB genes. Several ITS sequences detected in the present study clustered within the lineage that includes B. bacilliformis and B. ancachensis. The Bayesian phylogenetic inference based on the gltA gene positioned the obtained sequences in six different clades, closely related to Bartonella genotypes previously detected in D. rotundus and associated ectoparasites sampled in Latin America. On the other hand, the Bartonella rpoB genotypes clustered together with the ruminant species, B. schoenbuchensis and B. chomelii. The present study describes for the first time the molecular detection of Bartonella spp. in D. ecaudata bats. It also indicates that Bartonella spp. of vampire bats are genetically diverse and geographically widespread in Brazil.

Bartonella spp. Prevalence (Serology, Culture, and PCR) in Sanitary Workers in La Rioja Spain

“…Recent documentation of the historical co-evolutionary efficiency of Bartonella spp. among mammalian reservoir hosts located throughout much of the world represents an amazing and evolving area of research [51,52]. In addition to transmission by a substantial number of documented and suspected vectors, Bartonella spp.…”

Occurrence of Bartonella genotypes in bats and associated Streblidae flies from Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil

“…Although the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella have previously been assessed in bats and bat flies around the world (Morse et al, 2012;Bai et al, 2015), several biological aspects of this important bacterial group remain poorly assessed in Brazil. So far, Bartonella DNA has been detected in bats sampled in Brazil with prevalence ranging from 5.28% (17/322) to 24.51% (51/208) (Ikeda et al, 2017;Ferreira et al, 2018;André et al, 2019). In addition, Bartonella DNA has been amplified from flies in the family Streblidae (19.8% [40/202]) collected from bats in Brazil (Amaral et al, 2018).…”

Molecular detection and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in large ruminants and associated ectoparasites from the Brazilian Cerrado

“…While a previous study conducted in Mexico suggested a limited potential for transmission of Bartonella spp. by bites of vampire bats to their prey (Raya et al, 2018), recent studies conducted in Belize, Peru (Becker et al, 2018) and Brazil (André et al, 2019) highlighted the chance of Bartonella transmission by vampire bat' bites.…”

“…However, the role of these arthropods in the transmission cycles of Bartonella is unknown and competence studies should be performed in order to elucidate their biological role. Additionally, the role of vampire bats in the transmission of ruminant‐associated Bartonella has been discussed (André et al, 2019; Becker et al, 2018; Raya et al, 2018).…”