Deciphering bartonella diversity, recombination, and host specificity in a rodent community

PLoS One. 2013 Jul 24;8(7):e68956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068956. Print 2013.

Abstract

Host-specificity is an intrinsic feature of many bacterial pathogens, resulting from a long history of co-adaptation between bacteria and their hosts. Alpha-proteobacteria belonging to the genus Bartonella infect the erythrocytes of a wide range of mammal orders, including rodents. In this study, we performed genetic analysis of Bartonella colonizing a rodent community dominated by bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) in a French suburban forest to evaluate their diversity, their capacity to recombine and their level of host specificity. Following the analysis of 550 rodents, we detected 63 distinct genotypes related to B. taylorii, B. grahamii, B. doshiae and a new B. rochalimae-like species. Investigating the most highly represented species, we showed that B. taylorii strain diversity was markedly higher than that of B. grahamii, suggesting a possible severe bottleneck for the latter species. The majority of recovered genotypes presented a strong association with either bank voles or wood mice, with the exception of three B. taylorii genotypes which had a broader host range. Despite the physical barriers created by host specificity, we observed lateral gene transfer between Bartonella genotypes associated with wood mice and Bartonella adapted to bank voles, suggesting that those genotypes might co-habit during their life cycle.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bartonella / classification
  • Bartonella / genetics*
  • Bartonella / pathogenicity
  • Bartonella Infections / genetics
  • Genotype
  • Host Specificity / physiology*
  • Mice
  • Phylogeny
  • Polymorphism, Genetic / genetics

Grants and funding

This study was partially funded by the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, the Animal Health department of INRA and the EU grant FP7-261504 EDENext. It is catalogued by the EDENext Steering Committee as EDENext 078G (http://www.edenext.eu). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.