Molecular detection of Bartonella spp. in bat-associated macronyssid mites (Acari: Macronyssidae) from Southern and Southeastern Brazil.

Despite the worldwide occurrence and high genetic diversity of Bartonella spp. in bats, few studies investigate their occurrence in bat-associated mites. To date, 26 species of Macronyssidae mite species have been reported from Brazil, and 15 of which were found parasitizing bats. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of Bartonella DNA in bat-associated macronyssid mites from Brazil. For this purpose, 393 macronyssid specimens were selected by convenience from the tissue bank of the Acari Collection of the Instituto Butantan (IBSP). These mites were collected from 14 different bat species in three different Brazilian States (Minas Gerais, Paraná, and Rio de Janeiro). Out of 165 mites positive in the PCR for the endogenous 18S rRNA gene, only eight were positive in the qPCR for Bartonella spp. based on the nuoG gene, and we were able to obtain two sequences base in this same gene, and one sequence based on the 16S rRNA gene. The phylogenetic inference based on the nuoG gene grouped the obtained sequences with Bartonella genotypes previously detected in bats and associated bat flies, while the phylogeny based on the 16S rRNA grouped the obtained sequence in the same clade of Bartonella genotypes previously detected in Dermanyssus gallinae. These findings suggest that macronyssid mites might be associated with the maintenance of bartonellae among bats.

Contribution to the knowledge of Parichoronyssus bakeri Morales-Malacara and Guerrero, 2007 (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae): new locality and host-association records with additional molecular data

The mite genus Parichoronyssus Radovsky (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) comprises twelve known species found parasitizing bats in the New World. This study aimed to identify morphologically and molecularly macronyssid mites collected from bats and kept as backlog in the tissue bank (-80C) at the Acarological Collection of the Butantan Institute (IBSP). After the examination, the material was listed and identified as Parichoronyssus bakeri Morales-Malacara and Guerrero. Here, we were able to provide diagnostic microscopic images for the females of this species, as well as molecular information (18S rRNA and 16S rRNA) that were deposited in Genbank for reference. New locality records were also provided for P. bakeri in Rio de Janeiro and Rondônia States, Brazil.