Bednarikova Sarka, Danek Ondrej, Bachorec Erik, Dundarova Heliana, Ghazaryan Astghik, Ivanova-Aleksandrova Nadya, Maglakelidze Sophio, Nemcova Monika, Piacek Vladimir, Zukalova Katerina, Zukal Jan, Pikula Jiri
Department of Ecology and Diseases of Zoo Animals, Game, Fish and Bees, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources/CINeZ, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2025 Aug 7;8:100304. doi: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2025.100304. eCollection 2025.
Recent research on chiropteran parasites suggests a high prevalence and diversity, and extensive spatial distribution of filarial species; however, ecological and phylogenetic studies are still in their infancy. We sampled blood from 78 bat specimens, collected 1181 ectoparasites at summer colonies in Armenia and Georgia, and used nested-PCR targeting the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (1) gene to detect and genotype filarial parasites. The overall prevalence of filarial DNA was 17.9% in blood samples from , , , and , and 8.5% in ectoparasites, including two mite species ( and ) and two bat flies ( and ). The prevalence of microfilarial infection was significantly higher in mite samples (13.8%) than in bat fly samples (4.1%). Bats with ectoparasites positive for filarial DNA had a significantly higher total number of ectoparasites. Phylogenetic analysis placed the 18 sequences obtained into different closely related clades of onchocercid nematodes, with four different species recorded: two belonging to the genus and two to a newly observed genus of the family Onchocercidae. Additionally, two new species of these parasites, one sp. and one Onchocercid sp., were genetically recognised. As predicted, the diversity of filarial parasites reflects the diversity of bat hosts in the Caucasus. Extending the sampling effort to more Caucasian bat species will likely reveal previously unknown filarial species. Non-lethal and non-invasive sampling of blood and ectoparasites for molecular screening proved effective for gaining insights into parasite diversity and phylogenetic relationships of bat-infecting filarial nematodes.
近期关于翼手目寄生虫的研究表明，丝虫种类的患病率高、多样性大且空间分布广泛；然而，生态和系统发育研究仍处于起步阶段。我们从78只蝙蝠标本中采集血液，在亚美尼亚和格鲁吉亚的夏季栖息地收集了1181只体外寄生虫，并使用靶向细胞色素氧化酶亚基1（1）基因的巢式聚合酶链反应来检测丝虫寄生虫并进行基因分型。在来自[具体蝙蝠种类1]、[具体蝙蝠种类2]、[具体蝙蝠种类3]和[具体蝙蝠种类4]的血液样本中，丝虫DNA的总体患病率为17.9%，在体外寄生虫中的患病率为8.5%，体外寄生虫包括两种螨类（[螨类1]和[螨类2]）和两种蝙蝠蝇（[蝙蝠蝇1]和[蝙蝠蝇2]）。微丝蚴感染的患病率在螨类样本（13.8%）中显著高于蝙蝠蝇样本（4.1%）。丝虫DNA检测呈阳性的体外寄生虫的蝙蝠，其体外寄生虫总数显著更高。系统发育分析将获得的18个序列置于盘尾丝虫线虫的不同密切相关分支中，记录到四种不同的物种：两种属于[属名1]属，两种属于盘尾丝虫科新发现的一个属。此外，从基因上识别出了这些寄生虫的两个新物种，一种[新物种1]属物种和一种盘尾丝虫属物种。正如所预测的，丝虫寄生虫的多样性反映了高加索地区蝙蝠宿主的多样性。将采样工作扩展到更多的高加索蝙蝠物种可能会揭示此前未知的丝虫物种。对血液和体外寄生虫进行非致命、非侵入性采样用于分子筛查，已证明对于深入了解感染蝙蝠的丝虫线虫的寄生虫多样性和系统发育关系是有效的。
