Ocurrence and molecular characterization of Bartonella spp. and Mycoplasma spp. in neotropical bats sampled in Brazil

Author(s)

Priscila Ikeda

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Jaboticabal. 2017-03-29.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias. Jaboticabal
• Defense date: 2017-02-15
• Advisor: Marcos Rogério André

Abstract

Vector-borne diseases have become increasingly important to human and animal health. The role of wild animals as reservoirs in the transmission of these diseases has been investigated. The Chiroptera Order is considered the second largest group of mammals in the world, hosting important zoonotic virus and bacteria. Bartonella spp. and Mycoplasma spp. are bacteria that parasites different mammals species' erythrocytes, including humans, causing different clinic manifestations. The present work aimed at investigating the occurrence and assessing the phylogenetic positioning of Bartonella spp. and Mycoplasma spp. in bats sampled in Brazil. A total of 325 blood and/or tissue (liver, spleen and heart) samples were collected from 162 bats belonging to 19 species distributed in four different families from five states: Mato Grosso, Pará, Paraná, São Paulo and Tocantins. Three samples showed negative results in the conventional PCR based on GAPDH gene and excluded from analysis. Seventeen (5,28%) out of 322 bats' samples were positive to qPCR for Bartonella spp. based on nuoG gene. The quantification of a Bartonella spp. nuoG gene fragment per microlitro in bats´ blood and tissues ranged from 4,4 x 10⁰ a 6,95 x10³ copies/μL. On the other hand, 45 (13,97%) samples were positive to cPCR assays for hemoplasmas based on 16S rRNA gene. Seven sequences were obtained for Bartonella spp. (nuoG [n=3], gltA [n=2], rpoB [n=1], ftsZ [n=1]), and five 16S rRNA sequences were obtained for Mycoplasma spp. In the phylogenetic analysis, the found Bartonella spp. sequences clustered with Bartonella spp. genotypes previously detected in bats sampled in Latin America countries. All five hemoplasmas sequences clustered together as a monophyletic group and closely related to Mycoplasma coccoides, by Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses. The biological samples positive for Bartonella spp. were collected from Phyllostomus hastatus, Carollia perspicillata, Sturnira lilium, Glossophaga soricina and Natalus espiritosantensis bats species. This is the first report of occurrence of Bartonella spp. in Natalus espiritosantensis. The positive biological samples for hemoplasmas were collected from animals belonging to the species Artibeus planirostris, Eptesicus sp., Eumops auripendulus, Glossophaga soricina, Molossus molossus, Molossus rufus, Myotis nigricans and Sturnira lilium, which represented the first evidence of the circulation of this pathogen in these species. The Bartonella spp. genotypes showed a phylogenetic relation with genotypes detected in bats sampled in other regions in the world; additionally, genotypes detected in bats from different regions of Brazil were phylogenetic distant from each other. However, Mycoplasma spp. genotypes obtained from bats’ biological samples from Brazil showed a closely relation among each other, comprising a monophyletic group, but distant from genotypes obtained in bats from the United States of America and Spain. Therefore, this is the first record of circulation of Bartonella spp. and Mycoplasma spp. among bats from Brazil, describing new species of bats as hosts of the studied bacteria. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/04773-0 - Molecular detection and characterization of Bartonella spp. in bats sampled in the states of Pará and Paraná, Brazil
• Grantee: Priscila Ikeda
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master