Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Invasive species can disrupt native epidemiological processes, potentially leading to the emergence of zoonotic pathogens. The relatively recent appearance and spread of the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) in Ireland provides a unique model system to study these phenomena. The depauperate small mammal community in Ireland, combined with baseline data, allows us to identify the invasion gradient of C. glareolus and its effects on rodent-borne pathogens over time. A total of 498 C. glareolus and 584 Apodemus sylvaticus were sampled, via removal trapping, across nine sites in Ireland in 2016 and 2017, with six sites revisited in 2021 and 2022. 16S rRNA metabarcoding identified 10 putative pathogenic Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) present in these rodents, relating to four bacterial taxa, Bartonella spp., Mycoplasma coccoides, Mycoplasma haemomuris and Mycoplasma penetrans, and one family of protozoans, Sarcocystidae. Several epidemiological processes were found to be correlated with the C. glareolus invasion; firstly, C. glareolus in Ireland exhibited patterns consistent with the enemy release hypothesis, compared to native populations in France, and the native A. sylvaticus in Ireland. Secondly, a potential dilution effect, with reduced prevalence of M. haemomuris in A. sylvaticus at the C. glareolus invasion core compared to the invasion front, was observed. Finally, C. glareolus had increased prevalence of Sarcocystidae at the invasion front when compared to the invasion core, depending on the time and stage of invasion. These findings further our understanding of pathogen dynamics during biological invasions, demonstrating that invaders affect native host-pathogen communities differently as they advance through various stages of establishment.
Source: PLoS Pathogens
Authors: Andrew McManus, Maxime Galan, Nathalie Charbonnel, Celia Holland, Vincent Sluydts, Annetta Zintl, Peter Stuart
Institutions: Munster Technological University, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Université de Montpellier, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Trinity College Dublin, University of Antwerp, University College Dublin
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,043
Funders: Biodiversa+, European Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Curtin University of Technology, Irish Research Council, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Narodowym Centrum Nauki, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Vlaamse regering, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Awards: G1325302214, G1425945637, The unseen adaptation of a non-native: A unique spatiotemporal study of infection dynamics and immunogenetics at a bioinvasion front, The unseen adaptation of a non-native: A unique spatiotemporal study of infection dynamics and immunogenetics at a bioinvasion front
OpenAlex ID: W7170175943