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Rissmann M, Friedrichs V, Kley N, Straube M, Sadeghi B, Balkema-Buschmann A. Baseline of Physiological Body Temperature and Hematological Parameters in Captive Rousettus aegyptiacus and Eidolon helvum Fruit Bats. Front Physiol 2022; 13:910157. [PMID: 36105294 PMCID: PMC9465388 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.910157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The discovery of bats as reservoir hosts for a number of highly pathogenic zoonotic agents has led to an increasing interest of infectious disease research in experimental studies with bats. Therefore, we established breeding colonies of Rousettus aegyptiacus and Eidolon helvum fruit bats, which both have been identified as reservoir hosts for relevant zoonotic disease agents, such as Marburg virus and Lagos bat virus. Since 2013, individuals of both species have been recruited to the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI) from zoological gardens in Europe, to where these species had been introduced from the wild several decades ago. The aviaries have been designed according to national recommendations published by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Under these conditions, both species have been reproducing for years. To better understand the physiology of these animals, and to generate baseline knowledge for infection experiments, we monitored the body core temperatures of R. aegyptiacus bats in the aviaries, and found a circadian variation between 34°C and 41.5°C. We also determined the hematological parameters of both species, and detected specific differences between both bat species. For values of clinical chemistry, no correlation to age or sex was observed. However, species-specific differences were detected since ALT, BUN and CREA were found to be significantly higher in R. aegyptiacus and GLU and TP were significantly higher in E. helvum bats. A higher hematocrit, hemoglobin and red blood cell level was observed in subadult R. aegyptiacus, with hemoglobin and red blood cells also being significantly increased compared to E. helvum. Lymphocytes were found to be the dominant white blood cells in both species and are higher in female E. helvum. Neutrophil granulocytes were significantly higher in E. helvum bats. This underlines the necessity to define baseline profiles for each bat species prior to their use in experimental challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Rissmann
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Nils Kley
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Martin Straube
- Landratsamt Ortenaukreis, Amt für Veterinärwesen und Lebensmittelüberwachung, Offenburg, Germany
| | - Balal Sadeghi
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Anne Balkema-Buschmann
- Institute of Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Greifswald, Germany
- *Correspondence: Anne Balkema-Buschmann,
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Raven N, Klaassen M, Madsen T, Thomas F, Hamede R, Ujvari B. Transmissible cancer influences immune gene expression in an endangered marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Mol Ecol 2022; 31:2293-2311. [PMID: 35202488 PMCID: PMC9310804 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the effects of wildlife diseases on populations requires insight into local environmental conditions, host defence mechanisms, host life‐history trade‐offs, pathogen population dynamics, and their interactions. The survival of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is challenged by a novel, fitness limiting pathogen, Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), a clonally transmissible, contagious cancer. In order to understand the devils’ capacity to respond to DFTD, it is crucial to gain information on factors influencing the devils’ immune system. By using RT‐qPCR, we investigated how DFTD infection in association with intrinsic (sex and age) and environmental (season) factors influences the expression of 10 immune genes in Tasmanian devil blood. Our study showed that the expression of immune genes (both innate and adaptive) differed across seasons, a pattern that was altered when infected with DFTD. The expression of immunogbulins IgE and IgM:IgG showed downregulation in colder months in DFTD infected animals. We also observed strong positive association between the expression of an innate immune gene, CD16, and DFTD infection. Our results demonstrate that sampling across seasons, age groups and environmental conditions are beneficial when deciphering the complex ecoevolutionary interactions of not only conventional host‐parasite systems, but also of host and diseases with high mortality rates, such as transmissible cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Raven
- Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Waurn Ponds, Vic, 3216, Australia
| | - M Klaassen
- Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Waurn Ponds, Vic, 3216, Australia
| | - T Madsen
- Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Waurn Ponds, Vic, 3216, Australia
| | - F Thomas
- CREEC/CANECEV (CREES), Montpellier, France.,MIVEGEC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - R Hamede
- Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Waurn Ponds, Vic, 3216, Australia.,School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tasmania, 7001, Australia
| | - B Ujvari
- Deakin University, Geelong, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Waurn Ponds, Vic, 3216, Australia
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