The Movement of Pathogen Carrying Flies at the Human–Wildlife Interface

Jahan, Mahbuba; Calvignac‐Spencer, Sébastien; Chapman, Colin A.; Kalbitzer, Urs; Leendertz, Fabian H.; Omeja, Patrick A.; Sarkar, Dipto; Ulrich, Markus; Gogarten, Jan F.

doi:10.1007/s10393-022-01621-8

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…SNP analysis of the virulence plasmids was unable to group strains isolated from the same animals, while chromosomal analysis grouped strains from the same individual primate closely. These primate strains were interspersed with strains isolated from flies (Calliphoridae) collected in traps, supporting the hypothesis that flies are active spreaders of Bcbva in the forest [12,[22][23][24].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen

Norris,

Zincke,

Daegling

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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(1) Background: Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) was the causative agent of an anthrax-like fatal disease among wild chimpanzees in 2001 in Côte d’Ivoire. Before this, there had not been any description of an anthrax-like disease caused by typically avirulent Bacillus cereus. Genetic analysis found that B. cereus had acquired two anthrax-like plasmids, one a pXO1-like toxin producing plasmid and the other a pXO2-like plasmid encoding capsule. Bcbva caused animal fatalities in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic between 2004 and 2012. (2) Methods: The pathogen had acquired plasmids in the wild and that was discovered as the cause of widespread animal fatalities in the early 2000s. Primate bones had been shipped out of the endemic zone for anthropological studies prior to the realized danger of contamination with Bcbva. Spores were isolated from the bone fragments and positively identified as Bcbva. Strains were characterized by classical microbiological methods and qPCR. Four new Bcbva isolates were whole-genome sequenced. Chromosomal and plasmid phylogenomic analysis was performed to provide temporal and spatial context to these new strains and previously sequenced Bcbva. Tau and principal component analyses were utilized to identify genetic and spatial case patterns in the Taï National Park anthrax zone. (3) Results: Preliminary studies positively identified Bcbva presence in several archival bone fragments. The animals in question died between 1994 and 2010. Previously, the earliest archival strains of Bcbva were identified in 1996. Though the pathogen has a homogeneous genome, spatial analyses of a subset of mappable isolates from Taï National Park revealed strains found closer together were generally more similar, with strains from chimpanzees and duikers having the widest distribution. Ancestral strains were located mostly in the west of the park and had lower spatial clustering compared to more recent isolates, indicating a local increase in genetic diversity of Bcbva in the park over space and time. Global clustering analysis indicates patterns of genetic diversity and distance are shared between the ancestral and more recently isolated type strains. (4) Conclusions: Our strains have the potential to unveil historical genomic information not available elsewhere. This information sheds light on the evolution and emergence of a dangerous anthrax-causing pathogen.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen

Norris,

Zincke,

Daegling

et al. 2023

Pathogens

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“…Flies can travel large distances, at the scales examined here; for example, a mark–recapture experiment in TNP showed that flies moved at least 1.3 km in the forest with a monkey group (Gogarten et al, 2019). Similarly, flies can move at least a few 100 m across the forest edge into village areas around Kibale National Park, Uganda suggesting they may serve as mechanical vector between these ecosystems (Jahan et al, 2023). While the potential mobility of flies may impact the scale at which pathogen and mammal iDNA‐based monitoring is meaningful, the biological signal extracted from the mammal and fly diversity estimates across these habitats suggests these fly populations are not a homogeneous population mixture at this spatial scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fly iDNA suggests strict reliance of the causative agent of sylvatic anthrax on rainforest ecosystems

et al. 2023

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Metabarcoding of invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA) is increasingly used to describe vertebrate diversity in terrestrial ecosystems. Fly iDNA has also shown potential as a tool for detecting pathogens. Combining these approaches makes fly iDNA a promising tool for understanding the ecology and distribution of novel pathogens or emerging infectious diseases. Here, we use fly iDNA to explore the geographic distribution of Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis (Bcbva) along a gradient from the forest within Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, out to surrounding villages. We tested fly pools (N = 100 pools of 5 flies) collected in the forest (N = 25 pools), along the forest edge (N = 50 pools), and near surrounding villages (N = 25 pools) for Bcbva. Using the same iDNA, we sought to reconstruct fly and mammal communities with metabarcoding, with the aim of investigating potential links with Bcbva detection. We detected Bcbva in 5/100 fly pools and positivity varied significantly across the habitat types (forest = 4/25, edge = 1/50, village = 0/25). It was possible to culture Bcbva from all positive fly pools, confirming their positivity, while sequencing of their whole genomes revealed a considerable portion of known genomic diversity for this pathogen. iDNA generated data about the mammal and fly communities in these habitats, revealing the highest mammal diversity in the forest and considerable changes in fly community composition along the gradient. Bcbva host range estimates from fly iDNA were largely identical to the results of long‐term carcass monitoring efforts in the region. We show that fly iDNA can generate data on the geographic distribution and host range of a pathogen at kilometer scales, as well as reveal the pathogen's phylogenetic diversity. Our results highlight the power of fly iDNA for mammal biomonitoring and pathogen surveillance.

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The Movement of Pathogen Carrying Flies at the Human–Wildlife Interface

Cited by 2 publications

References 32 publications

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen

Genomic and Phylogenetic Analysis of Bacillus cereus Biovar anthracis Isolated from Archival Bone Samples Reveals Earlier Natural History of the Pathogen

Fly iDNA suggests strict reliance of the causative agent of sylvatic anthrax on rainforest ecosystems

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