Diversity and phylogenetic relationships among Bartonella strains from Thai bats

PLoS One. 2017 Jul 20;12(7):e0181696. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181696. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Bartonellae are phylogenetically diverse, intracellular bacteria commonly found in mammals. Previous studies have demonstrated that bats have a high prevalence and diversity of Bartonella infections globally. Isolates (n = 42) were obtained from five bat species in four provinces of Thailand and analyzed using sequences of the citrate synthase gene (gltA). Sequences clustered into seven distinct genogroups; four of these genogroups displayed similarity with Bartonella spp. sequences from other bats in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Thirty of the isolates representing these seven genogroups were further characterized by sequencing four additional loci (ftsZ, nuoG, rpoB, and ITS) to clarify their evolutionary relationships with other Bartonella species and to assess patterns of diversity among strains. Among the seven genogroups, there were differences in the number of sequence variants, ranging from 1-5, and the amount of nucleotide divergence, ranging from 0.035-3.9%. Overall, these seven genogroups meet the criteria for distinction as novel Bartonella species, with sequence divergence among genogroups ranging from 6.4-15.8%. Evidence of intra- and intercontinental phylogenetic relationships and instances of homologous recombination among Bartonella genogroups in related bat species were found in Thai bats.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bartonella / genetics*
  • Bartonella Infections / veterinary*
  • Biodiversity
  • Chiroptera / microbiology*
  • Citrate (si)-Synthase / genetics
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Thailand

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Citrate (si)-Synthase

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Global Health, Global Disease Detection Technical Support Corps funds to MYK and CER. LYSSA LLC provided support in the form of salary for CER, but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the Author Contributions section.