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

Lela Urushadze; Ying Bai; Lynn Osikowicz; Clifton McKee; Ketevan Sidamonidze; Davit Putkaradze; Paata Imnadze; Andrei Kandaurov; Ivan Kuzmin; Michael Kosoy

doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0005428

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

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017 Apr 11;11(4):e0005428. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005428. eCollection 2017 Apr.

Authors

Lela Urushadze^{1

2}, Ying Bai³, Lynn Osikowicz³, Clifton McKee^{3

4}, Ketevan Sidamonidze¹, Davit Putkaradze¹, Paata Imnadze¹, Andrei Kandaurov⁵, Ivan Kuzmin⁶, Michael Kosoy³

Affiliations

¹ National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia.
² Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Vector-Borne Disease, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
⁴ Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.
⁵ Institute of Zoology, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
⁶ Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, United States of America.

Abstract

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.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Bartonella / genetics*
Bartonella / isolation & purification*
Bartonella Infections / epidemiology*
Bartonella Infections / veterinary*
Chiroptera / microbiology*
DNA, Bacterial / genetics
Female
Genetic Variation
Georgia (Republic) / epidemiology
Host Specificity
Male
Phylogeny

Substances

DNA, Bacterial

Associated data

Dryad/10.5061/dryad.f0k4j

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC), project G-2101. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.