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Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 19004

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anne Balkema-Buschmann

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Guest Editor

Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Interests: bats; zoonotic diseases; high consequence viruses; reservoir hosts; animal models; Mononegavirales

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bats comprise a large variety of different species, of which a considerable number have recently come into the scientific focus as putative reservoir hosts for high consequence pathogens affecting humans and animals. SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg, and Henipa viruses are examples for highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses. Using novel diagnostic technologies and approaches, additional pathogens are continuously detected in bats. However, despite the molecular and/or serological detection of such infections and sometimes even a successful agent isolation, comparatively little is still known about how the bats’ habitats and life cycles as well as the bat immune system may have an influence on this reservoir function. Moreover, it is well acknowledged that anthropogenic changes of bat habitats can ignite and drive epidemics.

In the recent past, numerous studies have elucidated the broad spectrum of pathogens in bats. However, questions regarding the relevance of some findings remain and can be best resolved in experimental studies performed under standardized conditions in the relevant bat species. A prerequisite for this is the availability of individuals of the relevant bat species in sufficient numbers to analyze the pathogenesis, host response, and pathogen shedding.

The aim of this Special Issue, therefore, is to offer a platform for scientists working on the different aspects of bats in infectiology, addressing aspects of their physiology, ecology, husbandry, screening for disease agents (viruses, bacteria and parasites), challenge experiments, and immunology.

We therefore invite you to submit your manuscripts addressing these fields for a compilation of our current knowledge into a comprehensive issue.

Dr. Anne Balkema-Buschmann
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Fruit bats
Insectivorous bats
Bat husbandry
Infection research
Emerging diseases
Zoonotic agents
Bat immunology
Virus reservoir
Bat ecology
Transmission routes

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5495 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reprogrammed Pteropus Bat Stem Cells as A Model to Study Host-Pathogen Interaction during Henipavirus Infection

by Noémie Aurine, Camille Baquerre, Maria Gaudino, Christian Jean, Claire Dumont, Sylvie Rival-Gervier, Clémence Kress, Branka Horvat and Bertrand Pain

Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2567; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122567 - 11 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4802

Abstract

Bats are natural hosts for numerous zoonotic viruses, including henipaviruses, which are highly pathogenic for humans, livestock, and other mammals but do not induce clinical disease in bats. Pteropus bats are identified as a reservoir of henipaviruses and the source of transmission of the infection to humans over the past 20 years. A better understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms allowing bats to control viral infections requires the development of relevant, stable, and permissive cellular experimental models. By applying a somatic reprogramming protocol to Pteropus bat primary cells, using a combination of ESRRB (Estrogen Related Receptor Beta), CDX2 (Caudal type Homeobox 2), and c-MYC (MYC proto-oncogene) transcription factors, we generated bat reprogrammed cells. These cells exhibit stem cell-like characteristics and neural stem cell molecular signature. In contrast to primary fibroblastic cells, these reprogrammed stem cells are highly permissive to henipaviruses and exhibit specific transcriptomic profiles with the particular expression of certain susceptibility factors such as interferon-stimulated genes (ISG), which may be related to viral infection. These Pteropus bat reprogrammed stem cells should represent an important experimental tool to decipher interactions during henipaviruses infection in Pteropus bats, facilitate isolation and production of bat-borne viruses, and to better understand the bat biology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings)

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13 pages, 4183 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Metagenomic Snapshots of Viral Components in Guinean Bats

by Roberto J. Hermida Lorenzo, Dániel Cadar, Fara Raymond Koundouno, Javier Juste, Alexandra Bialonski, Heike Baum, Juan Luis García-Mudarra, Henry Hakamaki, András Bencsik, Emily V. Nelson, Miles W. Carroll, N’Faly Magassouba, Stephan Günther, Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, César Muñoz Fontela and Beatriz Escudero-Pérez

Microorganisms 2021, 9(3), 599; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9030599 - 15 Mar 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3647

Abstract

To prevent the emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases and reduce their epidemic potential, we need to understand their origins in nature. Bats in the order Chiroptera are widely distributed worldwide and are natural reservoirs of prominent zoonotic viruses, including Nipah virus, Marburg virus, and possibly SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we applied unbiased metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches to decipher the virosphere of frugivorous and insectivorous bat species captured in Guéckédou, Guinea, the epicenter of the West African Ebola virus disease epidemic in 2013–2016. Our study provides a snapshot of the viral diversity present in these bat species, with several novel viruses reported for the first time in bats, as well as some bat viruses closely related to known human or animal pathogens. In addition, analysis of Mops condylurus genomic DNA samples revealed the presence of an Ebola virus nucleoprotein (NP)-derived pseudogene inserted in its genome. These findings provide insight into the evolutionary traits of several virus families in bats and add evidence that nonretroviral integrated RNA viruses (NIRVs) derived from filoviruses may be common in bat genomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings)

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11 pages, 1419 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of a Novel Yersinia enterocolitica Strain from Bats in Association with a Bat Die-Off That Occurred in Georgia (Caucasus)

by Tata Imnadze, Ioseb Natradze, Ekaterine Zhgenti, Lile Malania, Natalia Abazashvili, Ketevan Sidamonidze, Ekaterine Khmaladze, Mariam Zakalashvili, Paata Imnadze, Ryan J. Arner, Vladimir Motin and Michael Kosoy

Microorganisms 2020, 8(7), 1000; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8071000 - 4 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2656

Abstract

Yersinia entercolitica is a bacterial species within the genus Yersinia, mostly known as a human enteric pathogen, but also recognized as a zoonotic agent widespread in domestic pigs. Findings of this bacterium in wild animals are very limited. The current report presents results of the identification of cultures of Y. entercolitica from dead bats after a massive bat die-off in a cave in western Georgia. The growth of bacterial colonies morphologically suspected as Yersinia was observed from three intestine tissues of 11 bats belonging to the Miniopterus schreibersii species. These three isolates were identified as Y. enterocolitica based on the API29 assay. No growth of Brucella or Francisella bacteria was observed from tissues of dead bats. Full genomes (a size between 4.6–4.7 Mbp) of the Yersinia strains isolated from bats were analyzed. The phylogenetic sequence analyses of the genomes demonstrated that all strains were nearly identical and formed a distinct cluster with the closest similarity to the environmental isolate O:36/1A. The bat isolates represent low-pathogenicity Biotype 1A strains lacking the genes for the Ail, Yst-a, Ysa, and virulence plasmid pYV, while containing the genes for Inv, YstB, and MyfA. Further characterization of the novel strains cultured from bats can provide a clue for the determination of the pathogenic properties of those strains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings)

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12 pages, 3265 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Epidemiological Characteristics of the Korean Bat Paramyxovirus between 2016 and 2019

by Seong Sik Jang, Ji Yeong Noh, Van Thi Lo, Yong Gun Choi, Sun-Woo Yoon, Dae Gwin Jeong and Hye Kwon Kim

Microorganisms 2020, 8(6), 844; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8060844 - 4 Jun 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2938

Abstract

Bats are considered reservoirs of severe emerging human pathogens. Notably, bats host major mammalian paramyxoviruses from the family Paramyxoviridae, order Mononegavirales. In this study, paramyxoviruses were investigated by reverse transcription semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-semi-nested PCR) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), based on the RT-semi-nested PCR using the consensus paramyxovirus primers targeting the RNA dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) region. In addition, RT-PCR was performed using newly designed primers targeting regions of the fusion protein (F) and hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN). The dominant bat species in the collection site of paramyxoviruses were Miniopterus schreibersii, Myotis macrodactylus, Myotis petax, and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum. Paramyxoviruses were detected in four samples in 2016 and six in 2019. Meanwhile, in samples collected in 2017 and 2018, no paramyxoviruses were detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial nucleotide sequences of RdRp, F, and HN proteins suggested that the viruses belonged to the proposed genus Shaanvirus. In conclusion, this study revealed that bat paramyxoviruses in Korea belonged to a single genus and circulated sporadically in several provinces, including Chungbuk, Gangwon, Jeju, and Jeonnam. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings)

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Other

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8 pages, 901 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Seroprevalence in Bats and Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in Bat Ectoparasites

by Arinjay Banerjee, Kaushal Baid, Taylor Byron, Alyssa Yip, Caleb Ryan, Prasobh Raveendran Thampy, Hugh Broders, Paul Faure and Karen Mossman

Microorganisms 2020, 8(3), 440; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8030440 - 20 Mar 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3965

Abstract

The role of bats in the enzootic cycle of Lyme disease and relapsing fever-causing bacteria is a matter of speculation. In Canada, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (ss) is the genospecies that is responsible for most cases of Lyme disease in humans. In this study, we determined if big brown bats, Eptesicus fuscus, have been exposed to spirochetes from the genus Borrelia. We collected serum from 31 bats and tested them for the presence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We detected cross-reactive antibodies to Borrelia spp. in 14 of 31 bats. We confirmed the ELISA data using a commercial immunoblot assay. Pooled sera from ELISA-positive bats also cross-reacted with Borrelia antigens coated on the immunoblot strips, whereas pooled sera from ELISA-negative bats did not bind to Borrelia spp. antigens. Furthermore, to identify if bat ectoparasites, such as mites, can carry Borrelia spp., we analyzed DNA from 142 bat ectoparasites that were collected between 2003 and 2019. We detected DNA for the Borrelia burgdorferi flaB gene in one bat mite, Spinturnix americanus. The low detection rate of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in bat ectoparasites suggests that bats are not reservoirs of this bacterium. Data from this study also raises intriguing questions about Borrelia infections in bats, including the role of humoral immunity and the ability of bats to be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. This study can lead to more sampling efforts and controlled laboratory studies to identify if bats can be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and the role of bat ectoparasites, such as S. americanus, in the transmission of this spirochete. Furthermore, we outlined reagents that can be used to adapt ELISA kits and immunoblot strips for use with bat sera. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bats in Infectiology Research—Novel Tools and New Findings)

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