Prevalence, diversity, and host associations of Bartonella strains in bats from Georgia (Caucasus)

Bartonella infections were investigated in seven species of bats from four regions of the Republic of Georgia. Of the 236 bats that were captured, 212 (90%) specimens were tested for Bartonella infection. Colonies identified as Bartonella were isolated from 105 (49.5%) of 212 bats Phylogenetic analysis based on sequence variation of the gltA gene differentiated 22 unique Bartonella genogroups. Genetic distances between these diverse genogroups were at the level of those observed between different Bartonella species described previously. Twenty-one reference strains from 19 representative genogroups were characterized using four additional genetic markers. Host specificity to bat genera or families was reported for several Bartonella genogroups. Some Bartonella genotypes found in bats clustered with those identified in dogs from Thailand and humans from Poland.

本研究针对格鲁吉亚共和国四个地区的7种蝙蝠的巴尔通体（Bartonella）感染情况开展调查。共捕获236只蝙蝠，其中212份（占比90%）样本接受了巴尔通体感染检测。从212份样本中成功分离得到105份（49.5%）经鉴定为巴尔通体的菌落。基于gltA基因序列变异的系统发育分析，共区分出22个独特的巴尔通体基因群。上述不同基因群间的遗传距离，与此前已报道的不同巴尔通体物种间的遗传距离处于同一量级。利用4个额外遗传标记，对来自19个代表性基因群的21株参考菌株进行了特征鉴定。研究发现，部分巴尔通体基因群对蝙蝠属或蝙蝠科存在宿主特异性。本研究中在蝙蝠体内检出的部分巴尔通体基因型，与泰国犬体内及波兰人体内鉴定得到的基因型聚为同一演化分支。