Pathogenic Leptospira and their animal reservoirs: testing host specificity through experimental infection.

Sci Rep

Unité Mixte de Recherche Processus Infectieux en Milieu Insulaire Tropical (UMR PIMIT), Université de La Réunion, CNRS 9192, INSERM 1187, IRD 249. Plateforme de recherche CYROI, Sainte-Clotilde, La Réunion, France.

Published: April 2020

AI Article Synopsis

  • - Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira bacteria, is spread through contaminated environments and affects various mammals, but only a few can act as long-term reservoirs.
  • - In Madagascar, different types of Leptospira show strong specificity to local mammal hosts, possibly due to genetic compatibility or ecological factors that limit host interactions.
  • - A study with Rattus norvegicus found that while some Leptospira strains couldn't establish long-term infections, L. interrogans led to consistent kidney colonization and bacterial shedding, suggesting genetic factors influence host specificity in this region.

Article Abstract

Leptospirosis is caused by pathogenic Leptospira transmitted through contact with contaminated environments. Most mammalian species are infectable by Leptospira but only few act as efficient reservoir being capable of establishing long term kidney colonization and shedding Leptospira in urine. In Madagascar, a large diversity of pathogenic Leptospira display a tight specificity towards their endemic volant or terrestrial mammalian hosts. The basis of this specificity is unknown: it may indicate some genetically determined compatibility between host cells and bacteria or only reflect ecological constraints preventing contacts between specific hosts. In this study, Rattus norvegicus was experimentally infected with either Leptospira interrogans, Leptospira borgpetersenii or Leptospira mayottensis isolated from rats, bats or tenrecs, respectively. Leptospira borgpetersenii and L. mayottensis do not support renal colonization as featured by no shedding of live bacteria in urine and low level and sporadic detection of Leptospira DNA in kidneys. In contrast 2 out of the 7 R. norvegicus challenged with L. interrogans developed renal colonization and intense Leptospira shedding in urine throughout the 3 months of experimental infection. These data suggest that host-Leptospira specificity in this biodiversity hotspot is driven at least in part by genetic determinants likely resulting from long-term co-diversification processes.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7190861PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64172-4DOI Listing

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