The fresh water mussel unio mancus as sentinel for antibiotic-resistant enterobacteriaceae present in inland waters

Freshwater mussels are known to provide ecosystem services in many ways. Their natural filter-feeding activity contributes to maintenance of water sources and also, they are considered good bio-indicators of water contamination. Unio mancus is a threatened naiad inhabiting inland freshwaters from the Mediterranean basin, whose population has been decreasing mainly due to degradation of the habitat by human activities. In the present study, U. mancus was tested as a tool for detecting Enterobacteriaceae from inland freshwater. For that purpose, two experiments were carried out. The first one evaluated the capability of these naiads to filter and retain inoculated cephalosporin-resistant E. coli in laboratory conditions. They proved to maintain bacterial loads in their soft tissue up to 4 days post-exposure. The second experiment was carried out between July 2018 and April 2019 along L'Estany de Banyoles Lake and its scraping irrigations. To determine the presence of antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae under different levels of anthropogenic pressure, underwater caged naiads were tested for five periods of 15 consecutive days. Among all isolated bacteria using Vitek®2 system, six MDR-E. coli and one MDR-Klebsiella pneumoniae were found in the most anthroponized and polluted location points. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for these bacteria were interpreted according to the Epidemiological cut-off (ECOFF) values from the European Committee in Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Our results suggest that U. mancus has potential to become sentinel of bacterial pathogens of Public Health concern. A better understanding of their filtration capability will provide insights into more accurate cost-benefit analyses for their repopulation in autochthonous freshwater systems

Lack of Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Pipistrellus spp. Bats from Densely Cat-Populated Areas of NE Spain

Toxoplasma gondii infection in healthy animals is often asymptomatic. However, some species with little history of contact with the parasite, such as marsupials and New World primates, present high mortality rates after infection. Despite its potential conservation concern, T. gondii infection in insectivorous bats has received little attention, and its impact on bat populations’ health is unknown. To assess the putative role of insectivorous bats in the cycle of T. gondii, samples of three species of bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus and P. kuhlii) collected between 2019 and 2021 in NE Spain were tested for the presence of the parasite using a qPCR. All tissues resulted negative (0.0% prevalence with 95% CI: [0.0–2.6]) for the presence of T. gondii. Unlike previous studies on insectivorous bats from Europe, Asia and America, the present study suggests that Pipistrellus spp. bats do not play a significant role in the epidemiology of T. gondii in NE Spain. Further studies are encouraged to elucidate both the epidemiology of T. gondii and its potential impact on the health of microchiropteran species in Europe.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reappraising the use of forearm rings for bat species

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABLong-term mark-recapture studies are essential for bat conservation. Over the last decades, millions of bats across Europe and America have been marked with forearm rings for this purpose. Although it is considered a cost-effective method compared to Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT) tags, direct injuries from using forearm rings have been reported since their very first use. Yet, their impact on bats' welfare has not been systematically evaluated and remains a highly controversial issue among the scientific community and policymakers. Here we assess the impact of forearm rings and PIT tags on the health of different bat species. We reviewed 12 years of the existing recapture data of free-ranging bats from NE Spain and evaluated the impact of both marking tools in a captive colony of Carollia perspicillata, by assessing the development of skin lesions and levels of cortisol metabolites in guano (CG) after marking. We report that 55.1 % (435/790) of the recaptured free-ranging bats with forearm rings presented skin lesions. All banded C. perspicillata (n = 22, 100 %) developed skin lesions, whereas none of the PIT-tagged (n = 21) presented lesions. Levels of CG were significantly higher after marking with forearm rings only for one group. Banded C. perspicillata exhibited discomfort-associated behaviours due to forearm rings. Under the "precautionary principle", we recommend the ban of forearm rings for all bat species until species-specific studies under controlled conditions are performed and approved by a legally constituted ethics committee. Consideration of other long-term marking tools is mandatory to align with global bat conservation strategies

The fresh water mussel unio mancus as sentinel for antibiotic-resistant enterobacteriaceae present in inland waters

Freshwater mussels are known to provide ecosystem services in many ways. Their natural filter-feeding activity contributes to maintenance of water sources and also, they are considered good bio-indicators of water contamination. Unio mancus is a threatened naiad inhabiting inland freshwaters from the Mediterranean basin, whose population has been decreasing mainly due to degradation of the habitat by human activities. In the present study, U. mancus was tested as a tool for detecting Enterobacteriaceae from inland freshwater. For that purpose, two experiments were carried out. The first one evaluated the capability of these naiads to filter and retain inoculated cephalosporin-resistant E. coli in laboratory conditions. They proved to maintain bacterial loads in their soft tissue up to 4 days post-exposure. The second experiment was carried out between July 2018 and April 2019 along L'Estany de Banyoles Lake and its scraping irrigations. To determine the presence of antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae under different levels of anthropogenic pressure, underwater caged naiads were tested for five periods of 15 consecutive days. Among all isolated bacteria using Vitek®2 system, six MDR-E. coli and one MDR-Klebsiella pneumoniae were found in the most anthroponized and polluted location points. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for these bacteria were interpreted according to the Epidemiological cut-off (ECOFF) values from the European Committee in Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Our results suggest that U. mancus has potential to become sentinel of bacterial pathogens of Public Health concern. A better understanding of their filtration capability will provide insights into more accurate cost-benefit analyses for their repopulation in autochthonous freshwater systems

L'impacte negatiu de l'ésser humà sobre les pipistrel·les de vores clares

Els canvis en l'ecosistema per l'acció humana tenen impactes directes i indirectes sobre les poblacions de fauna salvatge i la seva salut. En un estudi conjunt entre el grup de recerca WildCoM de la Facultat de Veterinària, la Facultat de Genètica i Microbiologia de la UAB, l'IRTA-CReSA i el Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya, s'ha revelat l'efecte negatiu de la degradació ambiental sobre la composició i variabilitat del microbioma fecal de la pipistrel·la de vores clares.Los cambios en el ecosistema por la acción humana tienen impactos directos e indirectos sobre las poblaciones de fauna salvaje y su salud. En un estudio conjunto entre el grupo de investigación WildCoM de la Facultad de Veterinaria, la Facultad de Genética y Microbiología de la UAB, el IRTA-CReSA y el Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya, se ha revelado el efecto negativo de la degradación ambiental sobre la composición y variabilidad del microbioma fecal del murciélago de borde claro

Hotspot of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus Seropositivity in Wildlife, Northeastern Spain

We conducted a serosurvey for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus antibodies in various wildlife species in Catalonia, northeastern Spain. We detected high seroprevalence in southern Catalonia, close to the Ebro Delta wetland, a key stopover for birds migrating from Africa. Our findings could indicate that competent virus vectors are present in the region.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lack of Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Pipistrellus spp. Bats from Densely Cat-Populated Areas of NE Spain

Toxoplasma gondii infection in healthy animals is often asymptomatic. However, some species with little history of contact with the parasite, such as marsupials and New World primates, present high mortality rates after infection. Despite its potential conservation concern, T. gondii infection in insectivorous bats has received little attention, and its impact on bat populations' health is unknown. To assess the putative role of insectivorous bats in the cycle of T. gondii, samples of three species of bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus and P. kuhlii) collected between 2019 and 2021 in NE Spain were tested for the presence of the parasite using a qPCR. All tissues resulted negative (0.0% prevalence with 95% CI: [0.0-2.6]) for the presence of T. gondii. Unlike previous studies on insectivorous bats from Europe, Asia and America, the present study suggests that Pipistrellus spp. bats do not play a significant role in the epidemiology of T. gondii in NE Spain. Further studies are encouraged to elucidate both the epidemiology of T. gondii and its potential impact on the health of microchiropteran species in Europe

The fecal bacterial microbiome of the Kuhl's pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus kuhlii) reflects landscape anthropogenic pressure

Anthropogenic disturbance has the potential to negatively affect wildlife health by altering food availability and diet composition, increasing the exposure to agrochemicals, and intensifying the contact with humans, domestic animals, and their pathogens. However, the impact of these factors on the fecal microbiome composition of wildlife hosts and its link to host health modulation remains barely explored. Here we investigated the composition of the fecal bacterial microbiome of the insectivorous bat Kuhl's pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) dwelling in four environmental contexts with different levels of anthropogenic pressure. We analyzed their microbiome composition, structure and diversity through full-length 16S rRNA metabarcoding using the nanopore long-read sequencer MinION™. We hypothesized that the bacterial community structure of fecal samples would vary across the different scenarios, showing a decreased diversity and richness in samples from disturbed ecosystems. The fecal microbiomes of 31 bats from 4 scenarios were sequenced. A total of 4,829,302 reads were obtained with a taxonomic assignment percentage of 99.9% at genus level. Most abundant genera across all scenarios were Enterococcus, Escherichia/Shigella, Bacillus and Enterobacter. Alpha diversity varied significantly between the four scenarios (p < 0.05), showing the lowest Shannon index in bats from urban and intensive agriculture landscapes, while the highest alpha diversity value was found in near pristine landscapes. Beta diversity obtained by Bray-Curtis distance showed weak statistical differentiation of bacterial taxonomic profiles among scenarios. Furthermore, core community analysis showed that 1,293 genera were shared among localities. Differential abundance analyses showed that the highest differentially abundant taxa were found in near pristine landscapes, with the exception of the family Alcaligenaceae, which was also overrepresented in urban and intensive agriculture landscapes. This study suggests that near pristine and undisturbed landscapes could promote a more resilient gut microbiome in wild populations of P. kuhlii. These results highlight the potential of the fecal microbiome as a non-invasive bioindicator to assess insectivorous bats' health and as a key element of landscape conservation strategies. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42523-023-00229-9