Novel strains of typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (tEPEC) in Pteropus bats, including the first report of a phylogroup G tEPEC
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (tEPEC) is an important cause of prolonged diarrhoea in human infants. Humans are considered the primary reservoir and the only natural host of human-associated tEPEC. Recently, bat-specific tEPEC lineages were consistently detected in an Australian fruit bat species (Pteropus poliocephalus; grey-headed flying fox), indicating that P. poliocephalus is also a natural tEPEC host. tEPEC are differentiated from other pathogenic E. coli by the presence of the bundle-forming pilus (bfp) operon. In this study, we characterize two additional bat-associated tEPEC strains, the first (FF593) from P. poliocephalus and the second (FF618) from another Australian Pteropus species, Pteropus conspicillatus (spectacled flying fox). Whole-genome sequencing of the two bat tEPEC isolates revealed that both strains belonged to novel bat tEPEC lineages (FF593 to Clade F and FF618 to Clade E) and both carried novel bfp operons. FF593 is the first report of a phylogroup G tEPEC strain, and FF618 was phylogenetically related to a human aEPEC lineage (ST1041). Phylogenetic analysis of 11 bat and 11 human bfp operons determined that bat and human variants belong to separate lineages but share an evolutionary origin. This study provides further evidence that diverse bat-specific tEPEC lineages and bfp operons have evolved in Australian Pteropus bats and suggests that multiple species of Australian Pteropus bats are natural hosts for bat-specific tEPEC strains.
Source: Microbial Genomics
Authors: Fiona K. McDougall, Michelle L. Power
Institution: Macquarie University
Language: English
Subfield: Endocrinology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,839
Award: G3266386055
OpenAlex ID: W4413100829