Detection and phylogenetic analysis of Bartonella species from bat flies on eastern bent-wing bats (Miniopterus fuliginosus) in Japan

We examined Bartonella prevalence in 281 bat flies collected from 114 eastern bent-wing bats (Miniopterus fuliginosus) in Japan and phylogenetically analyzed with other bat fly and bat strains. The bat flies were identified as Penicilidia jenynsii (PJ; n = 45), Nycteribia allotopa (NA; n = 157), and novel Nycteribia species (NS; n = 79). Bartonella DNAs were detected in 31.7 % (89/281) of bat flies by PCR targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) gene. The prevalence of Bartonella DNA among the bat flies was 47.1 % (74/157) in NA, 15.2 % (12/79) in NS, and 6.7 % (3/45) in PJ. Bartonella bacteria were also isolated from two NA and one NS. A phylogenetic analysis of the gltA sequences revealed that bat fly-associated strains were classified into three lineages and the same lineages of Bartonella were commonly detected from both Nycteribia bat flies and Miniopterus bats. These results suggest that Nycteribia bat flies are potential vectors for transmitting Bartonella among Miniopterus bats.