Toxoplasma gondii: Prevalence in species and genotypes of British bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus)

Dodd, Nicole S.; Lord, Jennifer S.; Jehle, Robert; Parker, Steven; Parker, Fiona; Brooks, Darren R.; Hide, Geoff

Abstract

Few studies have investigated Toxoplasma gondii infections in bat populations and none have reported its
presence in protected British bat species. Using a collection of dead/euthanased bats collected from Lancashire,
UK, two species of bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus) were tested using a
highly sensitive SAG1-PCR method specific for detection of T. gondii DNA (n = 77; 71 P. pipistrellus and
6 P. pygmaeus). Whilst some potential bias may exist in the sampling strategy, an overall prevalence of
10.39% (±6.06%; 95%CI) was detected. All P. pipistrellus, were also genotyped using eleven polymorphic
microsatellite loci to determine their local population structure. The programme STRUCTURE revealed
that the majority of individuals (83%) were derived from one interbreeding population, and the remaining
individuals (17%) had mixed genetic origins. There was no significant difference in the frequency of T.
gondii infection or geographical distribution between subclusters. As all British bats are insectivorous,
the routes of infection with T. gondii remain elusive. However, the locally large and panmictic gene pool
suggests that intraspecies transmission could be applicable.

Citation

Dodd, N. S., Lord, J. S., Jehle, R., Parker, S., Parker, F., Brooks, D. R., & Hide, G. (2014). Toxoplasma gondii: Prevalence in species and genotypes of British bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus). Experimental Parasitology, 139, 6-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2014.02.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 9, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Feb 19, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-04
• Deposit Date: Mar 15, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 18, 2024
• Journal: Experimental Parasitology
• Print ISSN: 0014-4894
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 139
• Pages: 6-11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2014.02.007
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2014.02.007
• Related Public URLs: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014489414000241
• PMID: 24560770