Evaluation of bats in urban-rural interfaces: heavy metal contamination, antimicrobial resistance, and microorganisms with zoonotic potential

• Grant number: 20/15008-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2021
• End date: June 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Bryan Heinemann
• Grantee: Natália Carrillo Gaeta
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

From the 180 Brazilian pet species (Order Chiroptera), 46.7% can occur in urban areas. Bats are usually studied concerning their participation in the epidemiology of rabies, but little is known about important issues such as: (i) their participation as reservoirs and disseminators of antimicrobial resistance genes; (ii) the composition of the fecal microbiota and the presence of pathogens with epidemic and / or pandemic potential; and (iii) the degree of heavy metal contamination. Given the ecological and epidemiological importance of bats facing important diseases and their proximity to humans and other animals, it is necessary a research with an appropriate design to characterize the metagenome of the different species of bats in urban-rural transition regions, in addition to the degree of contamination by heavy metals that can interfere in the health of bats, in addition to being bioindicators of environmental contamination by these elements. Microbiome and the resistome will be carried out in fecal swab samples, using the shotgun-sequencing methodology. The detection of heavy metals will be carried out using methodologies to be validated for tissue samples, hair, and whole blood using wavelength dispersion X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF). Bats will be captured in urban-rural interface locations in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, starting from conserved areas up to the urban matrix. (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)

BRITO, JOAO EDUARDO CAVALCANTI; DE MELLO, BEATRIZ GAGETE VERISSIMO; GAETA, NATALIA CARRILLO; BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA NUNES; BRITO, TIAGO ROBERTO; AGOSTINHO, WASHINGTON CARLOS; BRANDAO, PAULO EDUARDO; HEINEMANN, MARCOS BRYAN; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in urban-rural interfaces: community structure associated with pathogen screening in Sao Paulo-the largest metropolitan region in Brazil. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. 47, n. 3, p. 26-pg., 2023-05-08. (20/15008-0, 20/14401-0, 19/19702-1)

GAETA, NATALIA CARRILLO; BRITO, JOAO EDUARDO CAVALCANTE; NUNES BATISTA, JULIANA MARIA; DE MELLO, BEATRIZ GAGETE VERISSIMO; DIAS, RICARDO AUGUSTO; HEINEMANN, MARCOS B.. Bats Are Carriers of Antimicrobial-Resistant Staphylococcaceae in Their Skin. ANTIBIOTICS-BASEL, v. 12, n. 2, p. 14-pg., 2023-02-01. (20/15008-0, 20/14401-0, 19/19702-1)

GAETA, NATALIA C.; HELLMEISTER, ALEXANDRE; POSSEBON, FABIO S.; ARAUJO, JOAO P.; HEINEMANN, MARCOS B.. Genomic analysis of a multidrug methicillin-resistant staphylococcus epidermidis recovered from the urine of a guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) with suspected pyelonephritis. VETERINARY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, v. N/A, p. 8-pg., 2022-11-03. (20/15008-0)