Pathogenic bacterial taxa constitute a substantial portion of fecal microbiota in common migratory bats and birds in Europe

The understanding of gut microbiota composition and dynamics in wild vertebrate populations, especially in highly mobile vertebrates, birds and bats, remains limited. Our study sheds light on the critical knowledge gap in how common pathogenic bacterial taxa of fecal microbiota are in migratory bats and birds in Europe. We found out that bacterial genera having species pathogenic to human or animals constituted a substantial portion of the fecal microbiota in all the studied host taxa. Most importantly, we identified asymptomatic individuals that were dysbiotic with bacterial pathogen overgrowth. These previously unknown pathogen bloomers appear as potent Europe-wide transmitters of bacterial pathogens, which cause, for example, diarrhea and bacteremia in human. Our findings may contribute to better understanding of seasonal disease hotspots and pathogen spillover risks related to migratory vertebrates.

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Publication Details

Journal
Microbiology Spectrum
Published
2025-02-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.01948-24
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Gut microbiota and health
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.03

Funders

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article

Pathogenic bacterial taxa constitute a substantial portion of fecal microbiota in common migratory bats and birds in Europe

Anbu Poosakkannu, Thomas M. Lilley, Oskars Keišs, Emmanuel Joyeux et al.
5 citations
Microbiology Spectrum
Gut microbiota and health
4.03
article

Pathogenic bacterial taxa constitute a substantial portion of fecal microbiota in common migratory bats and birds in Europe

Anbu Poosakkannu, Thomas M. Lilley, Oskars Keišs, Emmanuel Joyeux, Yanjie Xu, Betty Plaquin, Aleksi S. Lehikoinen, Matthieu Guillemain, Melissa B. Meierhofer, Iben Hove Sørensen, Kati M. Suominen, Jesper Johannes Madsen, Arto T. Pulliainen
article en
5 citations

Abstract

The understanding of gut microbiota composition and dynamics in wild vertebrate populations, especially in highly mobile vertebrates, birds and bats, remains limited. Our study sheds light on the critical knowledge gap in how common pathogenic bacterial taxa of fecal microbiota are in migratory bats and birds in Europe. We found out that bacterial genera having species pathogenic to human or animals constituted a substantial portion of the fecal microbiota in all the studied host taxa. Most importantly, we identified asymptomatic individuals that were dysbiotic with bacterial pathogen overgrowth. These previously unknown pathogen bloomers appear as potent Europe-wide transmitters of bacterial pathogens, which cause, for example, diarrhea and bacteremia in human. Our findings may contribute to better understanding of seasonal disease hotspots and pathogen spillover risks related to migratory vertebrates.

Microbiology SpectrumVol. 13(3)
University of Copenhagen (DK), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Turku (FI), Aarhus University (DK), Danish Medical Association (DK), Natural History Museum Aarhus (DK), Finnish Museum of Natural History (FI), Office Français de la Biodiversité, University of Latvia (LV)
Koneen Säätiö
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Gut microbiota and health
4.03
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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