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

is a bacterial species within the genus , 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 from dead bats after a massive bat die-off in a cave in western Georgia. The growth of bacterial colonies morphologically suspected as was observed from three intestine tissues of 11 bats belonging to the species. These three isolates were identified as based on the API29 assay. No growth of or bacteria was observed from tissues of dead bats. Full genomes (a size between 4.6-4.7 Mbp) of the 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.