title: Widespread infection with hemotropic mycoplasmas in bats in Spain, including a hemoplasma closely related to "Candidatus Mycoplasma hemohominis".
abstract: Molecular analyses of blood samples revealed infection with hemoplasmas in 97% of 31 cave bats captured in three caves in North-Eastern Spain. The characterization of 1250 bp of the 16S rRNA gene in 29 of the positive bats identified two different groups of sequences. Twenty-two Schreibers' bats (Miniopterus schreibersii) and one long-eared bat (Myotis capaccinii) shared one group, composed of seven closely related sequences. These sequences showed an identity of about 97% with "Candidatus Mycoplasma hemohominis" and the phylogenetic branch including bat and human sequences showed a 100% bootstrap value, supporting a close phylogenetic relationship between these hemoplasmas. The second group, representing a potentially novel species, was composed of a single sequence shared by six Schreibers' bats that had 91% identity with the recently reported hemoplasma from little brown bats in North America. Large bat aggregations in roosting caves probably benefits intra and inter-species transmission explaining the high observed prevalence.
authors: Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: syngamustrachea@hotmail.com.
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Millán
authors: IRBIO and Department de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: López-Roig
authors: Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Spain.
authors: Verónica
authors: V
authors: Delicado
authors: IRBIO and Department de Biologia Animal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Jordi
authors: J
authors: Serra-Cobo
authors: Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), Valdeolmos, Spain.
authors: Fernando
authors: F
authors: Esperón
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D059552:Caves; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Catalonia; Chiroptera; Hemotropic mycoplasmas; Mycoplasma sp