The Faecal Microbiome of Building-Dwelling Insectivorous Bats (Myotis myotis and Rhinolophus hipposideros) also Contains Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Representatives
The bacteriome of bat faeces and bat guano is still not well known, despite the increasing knowledge of it as a potential source of pathogenic and/or antibiotic-resistant species. In this study, the faecal microbiome composition of two building-dwelling insectivorous bat species ( Myotis myotis and...
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Published in | Current microbiology Vol. 77; no. 9; pp. 2333 - 2344 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Springer US
01.09.2020
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The bacteriome of bat faeces and bat guano is still not well known, despite the increasing knowledge of it as a potential source of pathogenic and/or antibiotic-resistant species. In this study, the faecal microbiome composition of two building-dwelling insectivorous bat species (
Myotis myotis
and
Rhinolophus hipposideros
) was analysed using cultivation-based and non-cultivation-based approaches. The cultivation analyses indicate the dominance of Gram-positive bacteria, represented by the genera
Enterococcus
,
Lactococcus
and
Lactobacillus
. Non-cultivation analysis based on 16S rRNA DGGE assays provided a different pattern, with the genus
Rahnella
found to predominate in the faecal microbiome. The analyses showed bat species to be the most important factor influencing the structure of the guano-associated microbial population. The presence of several possible human pathogens (
Hafnia alvei
,
Serratia fonticola
,
S. liquefaciens
) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (e.g. vancomycin resistant
Staphylococcus nepalensis
) was detected in faeces samples, indicating possible human health risks associated with bat guano. Although the bat-human transmission of infection caused by pathogenic bacteria has not been reliably confirmed to date, this possibility should not be underestimated. Given the very important ecosystem services of bats, particular those studied herein, it is time to think about appropriate management of bat populations inhabiting man-made buildings and potential conflicts with humans. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0343-8651 1432-0991 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00284-020-02095-z |