Occurrence of Bartonella genotypes in bats and associated Streblidae flies from Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil

Abstract

Bartonella is a genus of emerging zoonotic bacteria that are mainly associated with mammalian erythrocytes and endothelial cells. Bats are natural reservoirs for a variety of important pathogens that impact human and animal health. Recent reports have highlighted the role of bats and bat flies in the maintenance of Bartonella. Here, we showed that none of the 29 bat DNA blood samples obtained from five bat species in São Luís Island, state of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil, were positive for Bartonella in qPCR assays targeting nuoG. On the other hand, three out of 15 DNA samples (20%) from flies in the family Streblidae were positive for Bartonella. The BLASTn results showed that the gltA and rpoB sequences shared identities ranging from 97.2% to 100%, with Bartonella sequences amplified from bats or bat flies from Costa Rica and Brazil. These findings were supported by phylogenetic analyses based on Bayesian inferences. The present study showed that Bartonella genotypes are present in bat flies, thus shedding some light on the distribution of bat fly-related Bartonella genotypes in South America.

Intra- and Inter-Host Assessment of Bartonella Diversity with Focus on Non-Hematophagous Bats and Associated Ectoparasites from Brazil

“…Herein, one sequence (from a bat P. lineatus blood sample #77) was positioned in the same branch with a rodent-related Bartonella sequence in the ftsZ phylogenic analysis. This phylogenetic relatedness between Bartonella sequences from bats and rodents has already been observed by our research group [ 12 , 41 ] and recently by Muller et al 2020 [ 82 ].…”

“…bat flies sampled in northeastern Brazil, despite the fact that all 29 blood samples from the associated bat hosts were negative. The gltA and rpoB Bartonella genotypes detected in that study were closely related to genotypes previously detected in bats from Brazil and Costa Rica [ 82 ]. It is important to highlight that the detection of Bartonella DNA in ectoparasites does not prove the vectorial competence and capacity of a certain vector for this group of bacteria.…”

“…Even though Bartonella DNA detected in ectoparasites can be retrieved from the host as a product of blood meal, the cloned sequences obtained from the ectoparasite #79 clustered in a different branch from that where vertebrate host-associated sequences were positioned (bat blood sample #79) and therefore showed to be different from each other. Recently, Braga et al (2020) [ 82 ] detected Bartonella DNA in 3 out 15 Trichobius spp. bat flies sampled in northeastern Brazil, despite the fact that all 29 blood samples from the associated bat hosts were negative.…”

Molecular Survey of Anaplasmataceae Agents and Coxiellaceae in Non-Hematophagous Bats and Associated Ectoparasites from Brazil

“…Also, a possible explanation for these results might rely on a false-negative result with the bat samples (blood or spleen). It may occur due to the higher concentration of the host blood meal in the arthropod digestive tract, which may had increased the chances of detection of Ehrlichia DNA in the ectoparasite sample, as previously reported [68]. Lastly, the efficiency of the PCR assays should also be considered in this case.…”

Characterization of the bacterial microbiome of non-hematophagous bats and associated ectoparasites from Brazil

“…Out of the 48 flies analyzed, Bartonella sequences were detected in 37 (77%) specimens. Streblidae flies have already been identified as important hosts for many Bartonella genotypes and are possibly capable of transmitting the bacteria vertically (between themselves) or horizontally (between bats) ( Morse et al, 2012 ; Do Amaral et al, 2018 ; Braga et al, 2020 ; Ikeda et al, 2020 ). Despite the high abundance of Bartonella sequences detected in Streblidae flies, we were unable to establish a connection between the microbiome of bat flies and bat oral and fecal swabs.…”