Abstract A seroepidemiological survey of Brucella canis infection was performed on 1,071 dogs (companion, stray, and shelter groups) from seven prefectures in Japan. Overall, 3.5% (38/1,071) of the ...dogs were seropositive for B.canis by microplate agglutination test although no clinical signs were observed in positive animals. The seroprevalence by dog group was 2.9% (24/835) in the companion group, 3.6% (4/110) in the stray group, and 7.9% (10/126) in the shelter group. A significant difference was found between shelter and companion groups (P<0.01). Our study shows that asymptomatic infection of B.canis is widely distributed among dogs in Japan, and rearing in a group under poor hygienic conditions may lead to a risk of exposure to B.canis.
We devised a method to detect the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in tail-wiped swabs from wild boars. The CSFV gene in swabs was detected with high sensitivity using nested real-time polymerase ...chain reaction (PCR), which is a combination of reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR. We compared CSFV gene detection from boar tissue using the conventional and our tail-wiped swab method. The tail-wiped swab method showed sensitivity and specificity of 100% (26/26) and 98.8% (172/174), respectively compared to the conventional method. Thus, the swab-based CSFV detection method was considered to have detection sensitivity comparable to that of conventional methods. Additionally, we conducted surveillance for CSFV in wild boars on Awaji Island. CSFV was detected in 10.7% (45/420) of samples.
Many high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) cases in wild birds due to H5N1 HPAI virus (HPAIV) infection were reported in northern Japan in the winter of 2021–2022. To investigate the epidemiology ...of HPAIVs brought to Japan from surrounding areas, a genetic analysis of H5 HPAIVs isolated in northern Japan was performed, and the pathogenicity of the HPAIV in chickens was assessed by experimental infection. Based on the genetic analysis of the hemagglutinin gene, pathogenic viruses detected in northern Japan as well as one in Sakhalin, the eastern part of Russia, were classified into the same subgroup as viruses prevalent in Europe in the same season but distinct from those circulating in Asia in winter 2020–2021. High identities of all eight segment sequences of A/crow/Hokkaido/0103B065/2022 (H5N1) (Crow/Hok), the representative isolates in northern Japan in 2022, to European isolates in the same season could also certify the unlikeliness of causing gene reassortment between H5 HPAIVs and viruses locally circulating in Asia. According to intranasal challenge results in six-week-old chickens, 50% of the chicken-lethal dose of Crow/Hok was calculated as 104.5 times of the 50% egg-infectious dose. These results demonstrated that the currently prevalent H5 HPAIVs could spread widely from certain origins throughout the Eurasian continent, including Europe and the Far East, and implied a possibility that contagious viruses are gathered in lakes in the northern territory via bird migration. Active monitoring of wild birds at the global level is essential to estimate the geographical source and spread dynamics of HPAIVs.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The prevalence and genetic characteristics of Bartonella species in eastern bent-wing bats (Miniopterus fuliginosus) from Japan were investigated. Bartonella bacteria were isolated from 12/50 (24%) ...of bats examined. Analyses of sequence similarities of the citrate synthase gene (gltA) and RNA polymerase beta-subunit-encoding (rpoB) gene indicated that the isolates from M. fuliginosus were distinct from those present in known Bartonella species as the levels of similarity for both of the genes were lower than the cut-off values for species identification in Bartonella. A phylogenetic analysis of the gltA sequences revealed that the Miniopterus bat-associated strains fell into five genotypes (I to V). Though genotypes I to IV formed a clade with Bartonella from Miniopterus bats from Taiwan, genotype V made a monophyletic clade separate from other bat isolates. In a phylogenetic analysis with the concatenated sequences of the 16S rRNA, gltA, rpoB, cell division protein (ftsZ) gene, and riboflavin synthase gene (ribC), isolates belonging to genotypes I to IV clustered with Bartonella strains from Taiwanese Miniopterus bats, similar to the outcome of the phylogenetic analysis with gltA, whereas genotype V also made a monophyletic clade separate from other bat-associated Bartonella strains. The present study showed that M. fuliginosus in Japan harbor both genus Miniopterus-specific Bartonella suggesting to be specific to the bats in Japan.
•The prevalence of Bartonella in Miniopterus fuliginosus was 24%(12/50).•M. fuliginosus in Japan harbored two novel Bartonella species in their blood.•One Bartonella species was the genus Miniopterus-specific Bartonella.•The other was distinct from other known bat-associated Bartonella.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In the fall of 2022, high pathogenicity avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) were detected from raptors and geese in Japan, a month earlier than in past years, indicating a shift in detection patterns. ...In this study, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis on H5N1 HPAIVs detected from six wild birds during the 2022/2023 season to determine their genetic origins. Our findings revealed that these HPAIVs belong to the G2 group within clade 2.3.4.4b, with all isolates classified into three subgroups: G2b, G2d, and G2c. The genetic background of the G2b virus (a peregrine falcon-derived strain) and G2d viruses (two raptors and two geese-derived strains) were the same as those detected in Japan in the 2021/2022 season. Since no HPAI cases were reported in Japan during the summer of 2022, it is probable that migratory birds reintroduced the G2b and G2d viruses. Conversely, the G2c virus (a raptor-derived strain) was first recognized in Japan in the fall of 2022. This strain might share a common ancestor with HPAIVs from Asia and West Siberia observed in the 2021/2022 season. The early migration of waterfowl to Japan in the fall of 2022 could have facilitated the early invasion of HPAIVs.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is a large herbivore found in northern India and southern Nepal. It is a critically endangered species, with an estimated population of approximately ...3,600 in the wild. Genetic factors, such as the loss of genetic diversity and the accumulation of deleterious variations, are critical risk factors for the extinction of endangered species, such as the Indian rhinoceros. To support the conservation efforts of the Indian rhinoceros, we assembled its draft genome. The new genomic data will enable the study of functional genes associated with the ecological and physiological characteristics of Indian rhinoceros and help us establish more effective conservation measures. The muscles of an Indian rhinoceros that died from prostration at a zoo were collected, and the samples were stored at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Tsukuba, Japan). Sequence data were obtained using an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform for short reads and an Oxford Nanopore Technologies PromethION for long reads. We generated approximately 235.2 Gbp of data. From these sequences, we assembled a 2,375,051,758 bp genome consisting of 7,615 contigs. The genome data are available from the National Center Biotechnology Information BioProject database under accession number BOSQ00000000.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•Nycteribia spp. are potential vectors of Bartonella among Miniopterus fuliginosus.•Bartonella prevalence in Nycteribia and Penicilidia bat flies is 31.7 % (89/281).•The bat flies harbored three ...species of Bartonella.•One is common to the host bats and the bat flies.•The others may be bat fly-specific Bartonella.
We examined Bartonella prevalence in 281 bat flies collected from 114 eastern bent-wing bats (Miniopterus fuliginosus) in Japan and phylogenetically analyzed with other bat fly and bat strains. The bat flies were identified as Penicilidia jenynsii (PJ; n = 45), Nycteribia allotopa (NA; n = 157), and novel Nycteribia species (NS; n = 79). Bartonella DNAs were detected in 31.7 % (89/281) of bat flies by PCR targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) gene. The prevalence of Bartonella DNA among the bat flies was 47.1 % (74/157) in NA, 15.2 % (12/79) in NS, and 6.7 % (3/45) in PJ. Bartonella bacteria were also isolated from two NA and one NS. A phylogenetic analysis of the gltA sequences revealed that bat fly-associated strains were classified into three lineages and the same lineages of Bartonella were commonly detected from both Nycteribia bat flies and Miniopterus bats. These results suggest that Nycteribia bat flies are potential vectors for transmitting Bartonella among Miniopterus bats.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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Peptides having the C-terminal N-alkylcysteine (NAC) with a free carboxy group, which can be easily prepared by the conventional 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) solid-phase peptide ...synthesis (SPPS), was directly used for the native chemical ligation (NCL) based on the in situ thioesterification method. The reaction efficiently proceeded under a mild acidic condition (pH ∼5) to give the ligated product. This method was successfully used for the synthesis of the human brain natriuretic peptide, (BNP)-32, showing the usefulness of the peptidyl NAC as a thioester surrogate for the NCL reaction.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
We investigated the prevalence of
Bartonella
in 123 northern bats (
Eptesicus nilssonii
) and their ectoparasites from Hokkaido, Japan. A total of 174 bat fleas (
Ischnopsyllus needhami
) and two bat ...bugs (
Cimex japonicus
) were collected from the bats.
Bartonella
bacteria were isolated from 32 (26.0%) of 123 bats. Though
Bartonella
DNA was detected in 79 (45.4%) of the bat fleas, the bacterium was isolated from only one bat flea (0.6%). The
gltA
sequences of the isolates were categorized into genotypes I, II, and III, which were found in both bats and their fleas. The
gltA
sequences of genotypes I and II showed 97.6% similarity with
Bartonella
strains from a Finnish
E. nilssonii
and a bat flea from a
E. serotinus
in the Netherlands. The
rpoB
sequences of the genotypes showed 98.9% similarity with
Bartonella
strain 44722 from
E. serotinus
in Republic of Georgia. The
gltA
and
rpoB
sequences of genotype III showed 95.9% and 96.7% similarity with
Bartonella
strains detected in shrews in Kenya and France, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that
Bartonella
isolates of genotypes I and II clustered with
Bartonella
strains from
Eptesicus
bats in Republic of Georgia and Finland,
Myotis
bats in Romania and the UK, and a bat flea from an
Eptesicus
bat in Finland. In contrast, genotype III formed a clade with
B. florencae
,
B. acomydis
, and
B. birtlesii
. These data suggest that northern bats in Japan harbor two
Bartonella
species and the bat flea serves as a potential vector of
Bartonella
transmission among the bats.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We devised a method to detect the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in tail-wiped swabs from wild boars. The CSFV gene in swabs was detected with high sensitivity using nested real-time polymerase ...chain reaction (PCR), which is a combination of reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR. We compared CSFV gene detection from boar tissue using the conventional and our tail-wiped swab method. The tail-wiped swab method showed sensitivity and specificity of 100% (26/26) and 98.8% (172/174), respectively compared to the conventional method. Thus, the swab-based CSFV detection method was considered to have detection sensitivity comparable to that of conventional methods. Additionally, we conducted surveillance for CSFV in wild boars on Awaji Island. CSFV was detected in 10.7% (45/420) of samples.
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