Hemotropic mycoplasmas in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus)

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Ricardo G Maggi³  Edward B Breitschwerdt³  Lisa A Last¹  Michael Yabsley⁴  Michael K Keel²  Patricia E Mascarelli³ 

[1] Department of Population Health, Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA;Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, 1060 William Moore Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA;D.B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA

关键词: WNS;    Mycplasma;    Haemoplasma;    Bat;    Hemotropic mycoplasma;   

Others  :  809724
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-3305-7-117

 received in 2013-12-13, accepted in 2014-03-18,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Hemotropic mycoplasmas are epicellular erythrocytic bacteria that can cause infectious anemia in some mammalian species. Worldwide, hemotropic mycoplasmas are emerging or re-emerging zoonotic pathogens potentially causing serious and significant health problems in wildlife. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with and without Pseudogymnoascus (Geomyces) destrucans, the causative agent of white nose syndrome (WNS) that causes significant mortality events in bats.

Methods

In order to establish the prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasma species in a population of 68 little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) with (n = 53) and without (n = 15) white-nose syndrome (WNS), PCR was performed targeting the 16S rRNA gene.

Results

The overall prevalence of hemotropic Mycoplasmas in bats was 47%, with similar (p = 0.5725) prevalence between bats with WNS (49%) and without WNS (40%). 16S rDNA sequence analysis (~1,200 bp) supports the presence of a novel hemotropic Mycoplasma species with 91.75% sequence homology with Mycoplasma haemomuris. No differences were found in gene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals.

Conclusions

Gene sequences generated from WNS and non-WNS animals suggest that little brown bats could serve as a natural reservoir for this potentially novel Mycoplasma species. Currently, there is minimal information about the prevalence, host-specificity, or the route of transmission of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. among bats. Finally, the potential role of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. as co-factors in the development of disease manifestations in bats, including WNS in Myotis lucifugus, remains to be elucidated.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Mascarelli et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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