Bacterial microbiome of non-hematophagous bats' ectoparasites, saliva and feces: a metagenomic approach

• Grant number: 19/13232-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Rogério André
• Grantee: Priscila Ikeda
• Supervisor: John Stephen Dumler
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 17/14124-4 - Detection and molecular characterization of Anaplasmataceae, Bartonellaceae and Mycoplasmaceae agents in bats sampled in a peri-urban region of Central-Western Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

The Chiroptera order represents the second larger group of mammals in the world, which are pointed out as reservoirs, hosts and source of infection for several potential zoonotic agents. It is estimated that 75% of the emerging diseases are zoonoses, from which 22% comprise vector-borne diseases. Therefore, due to the evidence of an abundance of ectoparasites in bats in Brazil and the role of these mammals in Public Health, it is important to achieve a better understanding of the ecological relationship among vectors, bats and microbial agents. For this purpose, metagenomics comes out as an important tool that can be used to obtain information about pathogens and to trace the profile of diseases and/or outbreaks of ilnesses caused by infectious agents. Our research group has been studying the genetic diversity of vector-borne agents in bats and their ectoparasites, focusing mainly on Bartonellaceae, Anaplasmataceae and Mycoplasmaceae agents. Even though these agents have been commonly found in previous microbiome studies in other regions of the world, little is known about the microbial communities in bats' ectoparasites and other body samples, such as as saliva and feces in Brazil. Since there is a lack of these information in Brazil, the present work proposes to assess the microbial community of non-hematophagous bats' ectoparasites, saliva and feces, using next generation sequencing tools. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PERLES, LIVIA; IKEDA, PRISCILA; FRANCISCO, GABRIELA DE VASCONCELLOS; TORRES, JAIRE MARINHO; DE OLIVEIRA, CARINA ELISEI; LOURENCO, ELIZABETE CAPTIVO; HERRERA, HEITOR MIRAGLIA; MACHADO, ROSANGELA ZACARIAS; ANDRE, MARCOS ROGERIO. Molecular detection of Hepatozoon spp. in non-hematophagous bats in Brazil. TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES, v. 11, n. 3, MAY 2020. (18/02753-0, 19/13232-3, 17/14124-4, 19/15150-4)