Publications

ectoparasitic bat flies (eucampsipoda hyrtlii) detected on the egyptian fruit bat (rousettus aegyptiacus) in antalya, turkey.	the aim of this study was to report on bat flies collected from a fruit bat (rousettus aegyptiacus geoffroy) which was found on the ground for an unknown reason, and was brought to a private veterinary clinic in antalya. bat flies on the bat that were brought to the clinic were sampled during examination of the bat. fly samples were stored in glass tubes containing 70% alcohol and then refrigerated (+4 °c). species identification was made by using morphological characters under a stereo microsco ...	2020	32482046
isolation of candidatus bartonella rousetti and other bat-associated bartonellae from bats and their flies in zambia.	bat-associated bartonellae, including bartonella mayotimonensis and candidatus bartonella rousetti, were recently identified as emerging and potential zoonotic agents, respectively. however, there is no report of bat-associated bartonellae in zambia. thus, we aimed to isolate and characterize bartonella spp. from bats and bat flies captured in zambia by culturing and pcr. overall, bartonella spp. were isolated from six out of 36 bats (16.7%), while bartonella dna was detected in nine out of 19 b ...	2020	32545824
visual adaptability and retinal characterization of the egyptian fruit bat (rousettus aegyptiacus, pteropodidae): new insights into photoreceptors spatial distribution and melanosomal activity.	our study was conducted to characterize the retinal structure of the egyptian fruit bat, rousettus aegyptiacus to determine the distribution of photoreceptors and melanosomal populations in various retinal zones. also, we paid attention to the specific structural and functional adaptations related to their nocturnal habits. we analyzed the retinae of 12 adult male egyptian fruit bats using morphometrical, histological, ultrastructural, and immunoblotting standard techniques. histological finding ...	2020	32563026
six reference-quality genomes reveal evolution of bat adaptations.	bats possess extraordinary adaptations, including flight, echolocation, extreme longevity and unique immunity. high-quality genomes are crucial for understanding the molecular basis and evolution of these traits. here we incorporated long-read sequencing and state-of-the-art scaffolding protocols1 to generate, to our knowledge, the first reference-quality genomes of six bat species (rhinolophus ferrumequinum, rousettus aegyptiacus, phyllostomus discolor, myotis myotis, pipistrellus kuhlii and mo ...	2020	32699395
retinal ganglion cell topography and spatial resolving power in echolocating and non-echolocating bats.	bats are nocturnal mammals known for their ability to echolocate, yet all bats can see, and most bats of the family pteropodidae (fruit bats) do not echolocate - instead they rely mainly on vision and olfaction to forage. we investigated whether echolocating bats, given their limited reliance on vision, have poorer spatial resolving power (srp) than pteropodids and whether tongue click echolocating fruit bats differ from non-echolocating fruit bats in terms of visual performance. we compared the ...	2020	32818939
sars-cov-2 in fruit bats, ferrets, pigs, and chickens: an experimental transmission study.	in december, 2019, a novel zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus emerged in china. the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov-2) became pandemic within weeks and the number of human infections and severe cases is increasing. we aimed to investigate the susceptibilty of potential animal hosts and the risk of anthropozoonotic spill-over infections.	2020	32838346
haematological, serum biochemical and electrophoretic data on healthy captive egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus).	bats play a key role as reservoir hosts of many emerging viral diseases with zoonotic potential. however, little is known about the laboratory reference intervals (ris) of bats, especially egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus). the aim of this study was to obtain haematological, biochemical and electrophoretic ris from captive fruit bats. blood was collected from 21 r. aegyptiacus (11 females and 10 males). complete blood cell count was performed using an impedance cell counter followed by ...	2020	32838610
past and current advances in marburg virus disease: a review.	marburg virus (marv), along with the ebola virus, belongs to the family of filovirus and is cause of a lethal and severely affecting hemorrhagic fever. the marburgvirus genus includes two viruses: marv and ravn. marv has been recognized as one of utmost importance by the world health organization (who). the case fatality rate of the virus ranges from 24.0 to 88.0% which demonstrates its lethal nature and the need for its widespread information. the first case of the marburgvirus disease (mard) w ...	2020	32920568
wing: a suitable nonlethal tissue type for repeatable and rapid telomere length estimates in bats.	telomeres are used increasingly in ecology and evolution as biomarkers for ageing and environmental stress, and are typically measured from dna extracted from nonlethally sampled blood. however, obtaining blood is not always possible in field conditions and only limited amounts can be taken from small mammals, such as bats, which moreover lack nucleated red blood cells and hence yield relatively low amounts of dna. as telomere length can vary within species according to age and tissue, it is imp ...	2020	33049101
asymptomatic infection of marburg virus reservoir bats is explained by a strategy of immunoprotective disease tolerance.	marburg virus (marv) is among the most virulent pathogens of primates, including humans. contributors to severe marv disease include immune response suppression and inflammatory gene dysregulation ("cytokine storm"), leading to systemic damage and often death. conversely, marv causes little to no clinical disease in its reservoir host, the egyptian rousette bat (erb). previous genomic and in vitro data suggest that a tolerant erb immune response may underlie marv avirulence, but no significant e ...	2020	33157026
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 natural animal reservoirs and experimental models: systematic review.	the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (sars-cov-2) outbreak has been rapidly spreading worldwide, causing serious global concern. the role that animal hosts play in disease transmission is still understudied and researchers wish to find suitable animal models for fundamental research and drug discovery. in this systematic review, we aimed to compile and discuss all articles that describe experimental or natural infections with sars-cov-2, from the initial discovery of the v ...	2020	33206434
human-pathogenic kasokero virus in field-collected ticks.	kasokero virus (kasv; genus orthonairovirus) was first isolated in 1977 at uganda virus research institute from serum collected from rousettus aegyptiacus bats captured at kasokero cave, uganda. during virus characterization studies at the institute, 4 laboratory-associated infections resulted in mild to severe disease. although orthonairoviruses are typically associated with vertebrate and tick hosts, a tick vector of kasv never has been reported. we tested 786 ornithodoros (reticulinasus) fain ...	2020	33219649
biological characteristics and permissiveness to viruses of diploid kidney cells strain from the bat nathusius' pipistrelle (pipistrellus nathusii keyserling & blasius, 1839; chiroptera: microchiroptera: vespertilionidae).	bats are an epidemiologically important natural reservoir of viruses of various taxonomic groups, including causative agents of especially dangerous infections of humans and animals. considering the relevance of arbovirus infections, it seems advisable to study the spectrum of the sensitivity of cells derived from bats inhabiting and migrating on the territory of the russian federation to causative agents of vector-borne diseases of animals.the study aimed to obtain a diploid strain of cells fro ...	2021	33683063
subgenomic flavivirus rna (sfrna) associated with asian lineage zika virus identified in three species of ugandan bats (family pteropodidae).	serological cross-reactivity among flaviviruses makes determining the prior arbovirus exposure of animals challenging in areas where multiple flavivirus strains are circulating. we hypothesized that prior infection with zikv could be confirmed through the presence of subgenomic flavivirus rna (sfrna) of the 3' untranslated region (utr), which persists in tissues due to xrn-1 stalling during rna decay. we amplified zikv sfrna but not ns5 from three experimentally-infected jamaican fruit bats, sup ...	2021	33863991
egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus) were resistant to experimental inoculation with avian-origin influenza a virus of subtype h9n2, but are susceptible to experimental infection with bat-borne h9n2 virus.	influenza a viruses (iav) of subtype h9n2, endemic in world-wide poultry holdings, are reported to cause spill-over infections to pigs and humans and have also contributed substantially to recent reassortment-derived pre-pandemic zoonotic viruses of concern, such as the asian h7n9 viruses. recently, a h9n2 bat influenza a virus was found in egyptian fruit bats (rousettus aegyptiacus), raising the question of whether this bat species is a suitable host for iav. here, we studied the susceptibility ...	2021	33919890
genomic features of humoral immunity support tolerance model in egyptian rousette bats.	bats asymptomatically harbor many viruses that can cause severe human diseases. the egyptian rousette bat (erb) is the only known reservoir for marburgviruses and sosuga virus, making it an exceptional animal model to study antiviral mechanisms in an asymptomatic host. with this goal in mind, we constructed and annotated the immunoglobulin heavy chain locus, finding an expansion on immunoglobulin variable genes associated with protective human antibodies to different viruses. we also annotated t ...	2021	34010652