Molecular detection of spp. and parasite infections of bats in Northern Nigeria.

Bats are mammalian hosts to a large diversity of eukaryotic protozoan blood parasites, including different genera of haemosporidians and diverse species of trypanosomes. Phylogenetic studies suggest that bats, particularly in Africa, have played an important role in the evolutionary histories of these parasite groups. However, our understanding of the diversity and distribution of chiropteran haemosporidians and trypanosomes in Africa remains tenuous. We investigated the prevalence and phylogenetic relationships of the blood parasites in different bat species in Northern Nigeria using molecular methods. A low prevalence of parasites was detected in a potentially rare host species, the African straw-coloured fruit bat () confirming yet another fruit bat species in the diverse range of African bat hosts. Trypanosome infections were identified in 3 different bat species. The trypanosomes of cf. were recovered as a distinct lineage that is related to , a species which is closely related to and cf. bats were infected with trypanosomes that are related to the distinct lineage of cf. parasites. Further, 2 different lineages of trypanosomes in bats share highest nucleotide identities with and a group of sp. parasites that are closely related to cf. and , respectively. The findings of this study confirm the notion that trypanosomes of African bats are phylogenetically diverse and that African bats might harbour a variety of yet undescribed trypanosome species.