Black flying foxes in Australia harbor novel Borrelia lineages adjacent to zoonotic clades

Verrett, T. B.; Falvo, C.; Benson, E.; Jones-Slobodian, D. N.; Crowley, D. E.; Dale, A. S.; Lunn, T. J.; Ruiz-Aravena, M.; Bat One Health,; McKee, C. D.; Clark, K. L.; Peel, A. J.; Plowright, R. K.; Becker, D.

doi:10.1101/2024.12.20.629695

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.12.20.629695

Black flying foxes in Australia harbor novel Borrelia lineages adjacent to zoonotic clades

Verrett, T. B.·Falvo, C.·Benson, E.·Jones-Slobodian, D. N.·Crowley, D. E.·Dale, A. S.·Lunn, T. J.·Ruiz-Aravena, M.·Bat One Health,·McKee, C. D.·Clark, K. L.·Peel, A. J.·Plowright, R. K.·Becker, D.

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Abstract

We explore the role of Australian black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto) as reservoir hosts of potentially zoonotic Borrelia bacteria. Across six sites, 2% of 840 bats were infected with one of two novel Borrelia haplotypes. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicated these infections are distinct from Lyme or relapsing fever clades.

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Verrett, T. B., Falvo, C., Benson, E., Jones-Slobodian, D. N., Crowley, D. E., Dale, A. S., Lunn, T. J., Ruiz-Aravena, M., Bat One Health,, McKee, C. D., Clark, K. L., Peel, A. J., Plowright, R. K., Becker, D.. 2024-12-23. Black flying foxes in Australia harbor novel Borrelia lineages adjacent to zoonotic clades. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.20.629695

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