Babesia vesperuginis, a neglected piroplasmid: new host and geographical records, and phylogenetic relations

Alexandra Corduneanu,Kristýna Hrazdilová,Attila D Sándor,Marius-Alexandru Ciocănău,Hans-Peter Fuehrer,Katharina Stefke,Dragoş Ștefan Măntoiu,Sándor Hornok,Levente Barti,Zoltán Bagó,Ioana Adriana Matei,David Modrý,Ioan Coroiu,Natascha Leitner,Andrei Daniel Mihalca,Angela Monica Ionică

doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2536-3

Abstract

BackgroundBabesia spp. are hemoparasites which infect the red blood cells of a large variety of mammals. In bats, the only known species of the genus is Babesia vesperuginis. However, except a few old reports, the host range and geographical distribution of this bat parasite have been poorly studied. This study aimed to investigate the presence of piroplasms in tissues of bats collected in four different countries from eastern and central Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.MethodsA total of 461 bat carcasses (24 species) were collected between 2001 and 2016 from caves, mines and buildings. PCR was performed using specific primers targeting a portion of the 18S rDNA nuclear gene and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene, followed by sequencing.ResultsThe results of this study show for the first time the presence of B. vesperuginis in bats in central and eastern Europe. The phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rDNA nuclear gene revealed no variability between the sequences and the phylogenetic analysis of the cox1 mitochondrial gene proved that B. vesperuginis could be divided into two subclades.ConclusionOur study showed a broad geographical distribution of B. vesperuginis in European bats, reporting its presence in five new host species (M. cf. alcathoe, M. bechsteinii, M. myotis, Pi. nathusii and V. murinus) and three new countries.

Highlights

Babesia spp. are hemoparasites which infect the red blood cells of a large variety of mammals
The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of piroplasmids and their genetic diversity in bats from central and eastern Europe, namely from CZ Czech Republic (Austria), Czech Republic, RO Romania (Hungary) and Romania based on partial sequences of nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cox1 genes to broaden the knowledge on their host spectrum, geographical distribution and phylogenetic relationships to other piroplasms
PCR targeting 18S rDNA revealed the presence of piroplasmid DNA in 20 out of 461 bats (4.34%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 2.83–6.61)

Summary

Introduction

Babesia spp. are hemoparasites which infect the red blood cells of a large variety of mammals. The only known species of the genus is Babesia vesperuginis. This study aimed to investigate the presence of piroplasms in tissues of bats collected in four different countries from eastern and central Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. The species was later reported in the UK [15] in blood smears of bats, followed by experimental transmission studies [16]. Concannon et al [17] identified the infection with B. vesperuginis by PCR targeting the 18S rDNA in six individuals from a total of 60 bats from Cornwall, UK, and they concluded that the parasite is different from other known Babesia. The only study outside Europe reports the presence of Corduneanu et al Parasites & Vectors (2017) 10:598 unidentified Babesia in Mormoops megalophylla from Colombia, with a low microscopic prevalence of 1.19% in blood smears [18]. All samples were tested for the presence of piroplasms DNA with a conventional PCR and the positive samples (2.25%) have shown similarity with Babesia canis

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