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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Novel Borrelia genotypes in bats from the Macaregua Cave, Colombia

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Author(s):
Munoz-Leal, Sebastian [1, 2] ; Faccini-Martinez, Alvaro A. [3, 4] ; Perez-Torres, Jairo [5] ; Chala-Quintero, Sandra M. [5] ; Herrera-Sepulveda, Maria T. [5, 6] ; Cuervo, Claudia [6] ; Labruna, Marcelo B. [1]
Total Authors: 7
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Vet Med & Zootechny, Dept Prevent Vet Med & Anim Hlth, Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Concepcion, Dept Pathol & Prevent Med, Fac Vet Sci, Ave Vicente Mendez 595, Casilla 537, Chillan, Nuble - Chile
[3] Univ Cordoba, Inst Invest Biol Trop, Campus Berastegui, Cordoba - Colombia
[4] Asociac Colombiana Infectol, Comm Trop Med Zoonoses & Travel Med, Bogota - Colombia
[5] Pontificia Univ Javeriana, Ecol & Systemat Unit UNESIS, Lab Funct Ecol, Fac Sci, Bogota - Colombia
[6] Pontificia Univ Javeriana, Infect Dis Grp, Fac Sci, Bogota - Colombia
Total Affiliations: 6
Document type: Journal article
Source: ZOONOSES AND PUBLIC HEALTH; v. 68, n. 1, p. 12-18, FEB 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 0
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. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 18/02521-1 - Study on tick relapsing fever group spirochetes (Spirochaetaceae: Borrelia) on ticks of genus Ornithodoros (Acari: Argasidae) parasitizing humans in Brazil
Grantee:Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
FAPESP's process: 19/17960-3 - Advanced culture techniques, next generation sequencing, and immunoblot applied to the study of a Brazilian relapsing fever spirochete
Grantee:Sebastián Alejandro Munoz Leal
Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor