{"response":{"status":"ok","message_type":"publication"},"id":3158,"citation":"Gutiérrez et al., 2018, Molecular Ecology","doi":"10.1111/mec.14906","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/publications/3158.json","link_ext":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14906","title":"Untangling the knots: Co‐infection and diversity of \u003ci\u003eBartonella\u003c/i\u003e from wild gerbils and their associated fleas","journal":"Molecular Ecology","journal_loc":"27 (23)","journal_date":"2018-12-01","pub_type":"journal-article","abstract":"\u003cjats:title\u003eAbstract\u003c/jats:title\u003e\u003cjats:p\u003eBased on molecular data, previous studies have suggested a high overall diversity and co‐infection rates of \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e bacteria in wild rodents and their fleas. However, partial genetic characterization of uncultured co‐infecting bacteria limited sound conclusions concerning intra‐ and inter‐specific diversity of the circulating \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e. To overcome this limitation, \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e infections of wild populations of two sympatric gerbil species and their fleas were explored by multiple isolations of \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e organisms. Accordingly, 448 pure \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e isolates, obtained from 20 rodent blood and 39 flea samples, were genetically characterized to the genotype and species levels. Results revealed a remarkable diversity and co‐infection rates of \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e among these sympatric rodents and their associated fleas. Specifically, 38 genotypes, classified into four main \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e species, were identified. Co‐infection was confirmed in 56% of the samples, which contained two to four \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e genotypes per sample, belonging to up to three different species. Recombination within and between these species was demonstrated, serving as a direct evidence of the frequent bacteria–bacteria interactions. Moreover, despite the noticeable interchange of common \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e genotypes between rodents and fleas, the co‐occurrence of genotypes was not random and differences in the overall diversity, and the ecological and phylogenetic similarities of the infection compositions were significantly associated with the carrier type (rodent vs. flea) and the rodent species. Thus, comprehensive identification of the co‐infecting organisms enabled the elucidation of ecological factors affecting the \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e distribution among reservoirs and vectors. This study may serve as a model for the investigation of other vector‐borne organisms and their relationships with \u003cjats:italic\u003eBartonella\u003c/jats:italic\u003e.\u003c/jats:p\u003e","long_citation_html":"Gutiérrez et al. (2018). Untangling the knots: Co‐infection and diversity of \u003ci\u003eBartonella\u003c/i\u003e from wild gerbils and their associated fleas. \n\u003ci\u003eMolecular Ecology\u003c/i\u003e. \u003ca href=\"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14906\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eDOI:10.1111/mec.14906\u003c/a\u003e\n","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.843Z","updated_at":"2025-11-06T14:17:58.087Z","authors":[{"id":12569,"given":"Ricardo","family":"Gutiérrez","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.879Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.879Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12569.json"},{"id":12570,"given":"Carmit","family":"Cohen","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.897Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.897Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12570.json"},{"id":12571,"given":"Ron","family":"Flatau","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.906Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.906Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12571.json"},{"id":17466,"given":"Evgeniya","family":"Marcos‐Hadad","created_at":"2025-11-06T14:17:58.147Z","updated_at":"2025-11-06T14:17:58.147Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/17466.json"},{"id":12573,"given":"Mario","family":"Garrido","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.923Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.923Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12573.json"},{"id":12574,"given":"Snir","family":"Halle","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.931Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.931Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12574.json"},{"id":17467,"given":"Yaarit","family":"Nachum‐Biala","created_at":"2025-11-06T14:17:58.228Z","updated_at":"2025-11-06T14:17:58.228Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/17467.json"},{"id":12575,"given":"Shay","family":"Covo","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.946Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.946Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12575.json"},{"id":12576,"given":"Hadas","family":"Hawlena","created_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.957Z","updated_at":"2023-08-26T07:13:49.957Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/12576.json"},{"id":11633,"given":"Shimon","family":"Harrus","created_at":"2023-05-12T22:00:17.170Z","updated_at":"2023-05-12T22:00:17.170Z","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/authors/11633.json"}],"names":[{"id":32284,"name":"Bartonella gerbillinarum","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/names/32284.json","uri":"https://seqco.de/i:32284"},{"id":32285,"name":"Bartonella khokhlovae","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/names/32285.json","uri":"https://seqco.de/i:32285"},{"id":32286,"name":"Bartonella negevensis","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/names/32286.json","uri":"https://seqco.de/i:32286"}],"subjects":[{"id":2,"name":"Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/subjects/2.json"},{"id":15,"name":"Genetics","url":"https://api.seqco.de/v1/subjects/15.json"}]}