Micro and macroparasites of bats (Chiroptera)

Lord, JS

Abstract

Bats (Chiroptera) are one of the most successful and diverse of mammalian orders, with an
estimated 1100 species worldwide. Due to protected species legislation, studies that focus upon
bat endoparasites are limited. As such, many fundamental questions concerning bat-parasite
relationships remain unanswered, including evolutionary aspects of such associations, hostparasite interactions and factors that may influence the composition of bat parasite communities.
To further knowledge of bat parasitology, one hundred bats, that had either died of natural
causes, or had been euthanized due to severity of injury, were acquired across Greater
Manchester and Lancashire between September 2005 and September 2008. Molecular typing
methods confirmed 93 specimens to be common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), six to be
soprano pipistrelle (P. pygmaeus) and one to be a whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus).
Development of PCR-based methodologies, coupled when possible with morphological analyses,
confirmed the presence of the following microparasites (prevalence data in parenthesis): Babesia
vesperuginis (23%), Trypanosoma spp (36%), Bartonella sp. (2%) and Eimeria sp. (20%), and
the following macroparasites: Lecithodendrium linstowi (80.4%), Lecithodendrium spathulatum
(19.6%), Prosthodendrium sp. (35.3%), Plagiorchis koreanus (29.4%) and Pycnoporus
heteroporus (9.8%). Potential factors affecting the parasite community composition including
host sex and age, season, year, geographic location and parasite co-infection are explored.
The detection of Eimeria sp. would appear to be the first record of coccidia in British bats, and
also the first global record of Eimeria sp. from the common pipistrelle.
Phylogenetic analysis of bat-associated Bartonella sp. ITS region, clusters the isolate in a well
supported clade with B. grahamii, B. elizabethae and B. queenslandensis, all known to infect
rodents, in addition to B. grahamii and B. elizabethae being recognised human pathogens.
The first molecular sequence data for L. spathulatum is presented, and sequence data for
Prosthodendrium specimens is also novel; both are incorporated into a phylogenetic analysis of
the Lecithodendriidae, which questions the current taxonomic status of Prosthodendrium.
Lastly, in an attempt to assist the evolutionary study of haemosporidian parasites, ectoparasitic
bat flies were collected in the field from Puerto Rican bats and additional samples were acquired
from Germany. Dissection and cytochrome b-specific PCR analysis of DNA extracted from
insect digestive tract tissue confirmed the presence of haemosporidian DNA within two of the
German samples. Phylogenetic analysis of the order Haemosporidia, incorporating the novel
cytochrome b gene sequence derived from these German samples, showed the latter to cluster
strongly with samples isolated from Madagascan bats and illustrates likely host-switching
between birds and mammals.

Citation

Lord, J. Micro and macroparasites of bats (Chiroptera). (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Sep 13, 2010
• Award Date: Jun 1, 2010