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Volokhov DV, Lock LR, Dyer KE, DeAnglis IK, Andrews BR, Simonis MC, Stockmaier S, Carter GG, Downs CJ, Fenton MB, Simmons NB, Becker DJ. Expanded diversity of novel hemoplasmas in rare and undersampled Neotropical bats. One Health 2023; 17:100633. [PMID: 37920218 PMCID: PMC10618802 DOI: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Hemotropic mycoplasmas are emerging as a model system for studying bacterial pathogens in bats, but taxonomic coverage of sampled host species remains biased. We leveraged a long-term field study in Belize to uncover novel hemoplasma diversity in bats by analyzing 80 samples from 19 species, most of which are infrequently encountered. PCR targeting the partial 16S rRNA gene found 41% of bats positive for hemoplasmas. Phylogenetic analyses found two novel host shifts of hemoplasmas, four entirely new hemoplasma genotypes, and the first hemoplasma detections in four bat species. One of these novel hemoplasmas (from Neoeptesicus furinalis) shared 97.6% identity in the partial 16S rRNA gene to a human hemoplasma (Candidatus Mycoplasma haemohominis). Additional analysis of the partial 23S rRNA gene allowed us to also designate two novel hemoplasma species, in Myotis elegans and Phyllostomus discolor, with the proposed names Candidatus Mycoplasma haematomyotis sp. nov. and Candidatus Mycoplasma haematophyllostomi sp. nov., respectively. Our analyses show that additional hemoplasma diversity in bats can be uncovered by targeting rare or undersampled host species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitriy V. Volokhov
- Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Lauren R. Lock
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Kristin E. Dyer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Isabella K. DeAnglis
- Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA
| | - Benjamin R. Andrews
- Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Molly C. Simonis
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
| | - Gerald G. Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Cynthia J. Downs
- Department of Environmental Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - M. Brock Fenton
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nancy B. Simmons
- Department of Mammalogy, Division of Vertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Daniel J. Becker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
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Stockmaier S. Bat behavioral immune responses in social contexts: current knowledge and future directions. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1232556. [PMID: 37662931 PMCID: PMC10469833 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1232556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals often mount complex immune responses to infections. Aside from cellular and molecular defense mechanisms, animals can alter their behavior in response to infection by avoiding, resisting, or tolerating negative effects of pathogens. These behaviors are often connected to cellular and molecular immune responses. For instance, sickness behaviors are a set of behavioral changes triggered by the host inflammatory response (e.g., cytokines) and could aid in resisting or tolerating infection, as well as affect transmission dynamics if sick animals socially withdraw or are being avoided by others. To fully understand the group and population level transmission dynamics and consequences of pathogen infections in bats, it is not only important to consider cellular and molecular defense mechanisms, but also behavioral mechanisms, and how both interact. Although there has been increasing interest in bat immune responses due to their ability to successfully cope with viral infections, few studies have explored behavioral anti-pathogen defense mechanisms. My main objective is to explore the interaction of cellular and molecular defense mechanisms, and behavioral alterations that results from infection in bats, and to outline current knowledge and future research avenues in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panama
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Stockmaier S, Ulrich Y, Albery GF, Cremer S, Lopes PC. Behavioural defences against parasites across host social structures. Funct Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- The Ohio State University Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology Columbus OH USA
- University of Tennessee Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Knoxville TN USA
| | - Yuko Ulrich
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena Germany
| | - Gregory F. Albery
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
- Department of Biology Georgetown University Washington DC USA
| | - Sylvia Cremer
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) Klosterneuburg Austria
| | - Patricia C. Lopes
- Schmid College of Science and Technology Chapman University Orange CA USA
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Cárdenas-Canales EM, Stockmaier S, Cronin E, Rocke TE, Osorio JE, Carter GG. Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus). Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220298. [PMID: 36069068 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Rabies virus (RABV) transmitted by the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) poses a threat to agricultural development and public health throughout the Neotropics. The ecology and evolution of rabies host-pathogen dynamics are influenced by two infection-induced behavioural changes. RABV-infected hosts often exhibit increased aggression which facilitates transmission, and rabies also leads to reduced activity and paralysis prior to death. Although several studies document rabies-induced behavioural changes in rodents and other dead-end hosts, surprisingly few studies have measured these changes in vampire bats, the key natural reservoir throughout Latin America. Taking advantage of an experiment designed to test an oral rabies vaccine in captive male vampire bats, we quantify for the first time, to our knowledge, how rabies affects allogrooming and aggressive behaviours in this species. Compared to non-rabid vampire bats, rabid individuals reduced their allogrooming prior to death, but we did not detect increases in aggression among bats. To put our results in context, we review what is known and what remains unclear about behavioural changes of rabid vampire bats (resumen en español, electronic supplementary material, S1).
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa M Cárdenas-Canales
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Eleanor Cronin
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Tonie E Rocke
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, WI 53711, USA
| | - Jorge E Osorio
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Gerald G Carter
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Ancón, Panama
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Abstract
Spread of contagious pathogens critically depends on the number and types of contacts between infectious and susceptible hosts. Changes in social behavior by susceptible, exposed, or sick individuals thus have far-reaching downstream consequences for infectious disease spread. Although "social distancing" is now an all too familiar strategy for managing COVID-19, nonhuman animals also exhibit pathogen-induced changes in social interactions. Here, we synthesize the effects of infectious pathogens on social interactions in animals (including humans), review what is known about underlying mechanisms, and consider implications for evolution and epidemiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA.
| | | | - Eric C Shattuck
- Institute for Health Disparities Research, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Dana M Hawley
- Virginia Tech, Department of Biological Sciences, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Lauren Ancel Meyers
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Storrs, CT, USA
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Abstract
Abstract
Sickness behaviors can slow the spread of pathogens across a social network. We conducted a field experiment to investigate how sickness behavior affects individual connectedness over time using a dynamic social network created from high-resolution proximity data. After capturing adult female vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) from a roost, we created “sick” bats by injecting a random half of bats with the immune-challenging substance, lipopolysaccharide, while the control group received saline injections. Over the next 3 days, we used proximity sensors to continuously track dyadic associations between 16 “sick” bats and 15 control bats under natural conditions. Compared to control bats, “sick” bats associated with fewer bats, spent less time near others, and were less socially connected to more well-connected individuals (sick bats had on average a lower degree, strength, and eigenvector centrality). High-resolution proximity data allow researchers to flexibly define network connections (association rates) based on how a particular pathogen is transmitted (e.g., contact duration of >1 vs. >60 min, contact proximity of <1 vs. <10 m). Therefore, we inspected how different ways of measuring association rates changed the observed effect of LPS. How researchers define association rates influences the magnitude and detectability of sickness effects on network centrality. When animals are sick, they often encounter fewer individuals. We tracked this unintentional “social distancing” effect hour-by-hour in a wild colony of vampire bats. Using bat-borne proximity sensors, we compared changes in the social network connectedness of immune-challenged “sick” bats versus “control” bats over time. “Sick” bats had fewer encounters with others and spent less time near others. Associations changed dramatically by time of day, and different measures of association influenced the sickness effect estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon P Ripperger
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Stockmaier
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Gerald G Carter
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
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Abstract
Vocalizations are an important means to facilitate social interactions, but vocal communication may be affected by infections. While such effects have been shown for mate-attraction calls, other vocalizations that facilitate social contact have received less attention. When isolated, vampire bats produce contact calls that attract highly associated groupmates. Here, we test the effect of an immune challenge on contact calling rates of individually isolated vampire bats. Sickness behaviour did not appear to change call structure, but it decreased the number of contact calls produced. This effect could decrease contact with groupmates and augment other established mechanisms by which sickness reduces social encounters (e.g. mortality, lethargy and social withdrawal or disinterest).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Daniel I Bolnick
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama
| | - Darija Josic
- Museum fuer Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Gerald G Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama.,Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Stockmaier S, Bolnick DI, Page RA, Carter GG. Sickness effects on social interactions depend on the type of behaviour and relationship. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1387-1394. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
| | - Daniel I. Bolnick
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs CT USA
| | | | - Gerald G. Carter
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa Panama
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
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Stockmaier S, Dechmann DKN, Page RA, O'Mara MT. No fever and leucocytosis in response to a lipopolysaccharide challenge in an insectivorous bat. Biol Lett 2016; 11:20150576. [PMID: 26333664 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Bat immune systems may allow them to respond to zoonotic agents more efficiently than other mammals. As the first line of defence, the taxonomically conserved acute phase immune reaction of leucocytosis and fever is crucial for coping with infections, but it is unknown if this response is a key constituent to bat immunological success. We investigated the acute phase reaction to a standard lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge in Pallas's mastiff bats (Molossus molossus). Challenged bats lost mass, but in contrast to other mammals showed no leucocytosis or fever. There also was no influence on body temperature reduction during torpor. When compared to recent genome-wide assays for constituent immune genes, this lack of a conserved fever response to LPS contributes to a clearer understanding of the innate immune system in bat species and of the coevolution of bats with a wide diversity of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stockmaier
- Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
| | - Dina K N Dechmann
- Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
| | - M Teague O'Mara
- Department of Migration and Immuno-ecology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, Universitätsstrasse 10, Konstanz 78464, Germany Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama
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