Novel Borrelia genotypes in bats from the Macaregua Cave, Colombia

Abstract

Bats have been implicated as reservoirs of relapsing fever group spirochaetes since the beginning of the last century. Recently, bat‐associated spirochaetes have been reported as human pathogens. In 1968, a spirochaete was detected in blood of the bat Natalus tumidirostris captured inside the Macaregua cave, Colombia. Data on this microorganism were never published again. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of Borrelia DNA in blood from bats of Macaregua cave. We performed molecular analyses using a genus‐specific real‐time PCR targeting the 16S rRNA to detect DNA of Borrelia in blood samples from 46 bats captured in the Macaregua cave. Positive samples were submitted to a battery of PCRs aiming to amply Borrelia 16S rRNA, flaB, glpQ, p66, ospC, clpA, clpX, nifS, pepX, pyrG, recG, rplB and uvrA genes. Seventeen samples were positive for Borrelia after real‐time PCR. With the exception of flaB gene, attempts to amplify further loci were unsuccessful. Nucleotide and amino acid divergences of four flaB haplotypes characterized from blood of Carollia perspicillata showed Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) as the most closely related group. A phylogenetic tree including 74 sequences of the genus confirmed this trend, since Borrelia genotypes detected in bats from Macaregua formed a monophyletic group basally positioned to Bbsl. Our results suggest that Borrelia genotypes characterized from bats roosting in the Macaregua cave might constitute a new taxon within the genus. This is the first molecular characterization of a Borrelia sp. in Colombia.

Bacteria related to tick-borne pathogen assemblages in Ornithodoros cf. hasei (Acari: Argasidae) and blood of the wild mammal hosts in the Orinoquia region, Colombia

“…Despite this prevalence, OTUs analysis did not determine a preferred species for Borrelia readings, which could suggest the presence of a new species. Reports of Borrelia in ticks and wild mammals have been increasing in recent years in South America (Ataliba et al 2007 ; Kelly et al 2014 ; Muñoz-Leal et al 2018 , 2021b ; Morel et al 2019 ; Sánchez et al 2020 ), but with few records in Colombia (Marinkelle and Grose 1968 ; Muñoz-Leal et al 2021b ). Borrelia and Rickettsia have been the only confirmed potential pathogenic bacteria related to O. hasei (Tahir et al 2016 ; Colombo et al 2020 ; Muñoz-Leal et al 2021a ), however, all recorded pathogenic genera were detected in O .…”

Seroprevalence canine survey for selected vector-borne pathogens and its relationship with poverty in metropolitan Pereira, Colombia, 2020

“…Then, as expected, the seroprevalence and circulation of B. burgdorferi s.l., is rare in Colombia, although a new putative taxon within the genus Borrelia has been detected from certain wild animals (e.g. bats) ( Muñoz-Leal et al, 2021 ). Consistently, a previous study (2014) in Medellín, Barranquilla and Cartagena, also found 0% samples positive for B. burgdorferi s.l.…”

Historical overview and update on relapsing fever group Borrelia in Latin America

“…Further data on this microorganism was not published until recently. We screened blood from 46 bats captured in the Macaregua cave using a genus-specific real-time PCR and detected the Borrelia 16S rRNA gene [ 80 ]. Positive samples were submitted to a battery of PCRs with the aim to amplify the Borrelia 16S rRNA, flaB, glpQ, p66, ospC, clpA, clpX, nifS, pepX, pyrG, recG, rplB and uvrA genes, but only flaB amplicons were obtained [ 80 ].…”

“…We screened blood from 46 bats captured in the Macaregua cave using a genus-specific real-time PCR and detected the Borrelia 16S rRNA gene [ 80 ]. Positive samples were submitted to a battery of PCRs with the aim to amplify the Borrelia 16S rRNA, flaB, glpQ, p66, ospC, clpA, clpX, nifS, pepX, pyrG, recG, rplB and uvrA genes, but only flaB amplicons were obtained [ 80 ]. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of four flaB haplotypes were found to be phylogenetically closer to the B. burgdorferi s.l.…”

“…Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of four flaB haplotypes were found to be phylogenetically closer to the B. burgdorferi s.l. group than to the RFGB [ 80 ]. Although isolation and thorough genetic analyses are still pending, our results suggest that the Borrelia genotypes characterized from bats roosting in the Macaregua cave might constitute a novel group within the genus.…”