Dados do Trabalho

Título

Bat fungus diversity in the Lower Amazon, Brazil - a describing analysis

Introdução

<p>The Brazilian Amazon biome covers more than 40% of Brazil's territory and is an important centre of biodiversity in the world. Recently, bats have gained prominence due to the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Human interference has led to increased contact between bats and human populations. Bats adapt easily to peri-urban and urban areas where they can find shelter and food. However, they bring wild and unusual microbiota into these areas. These closely related mammals have been a concern for environmental health surveillance over the years, as they can transmit diseases of public health concern</p>

Objetivo (s)

<p>The aim of our work is to study the fungal diversity in the Amazonian biota through isolates from the gut of chiropterans, Santarém region, Pará, Brazil.</p>

Material e Métodos

<p>Isolation and identification of fungi classical mycology. And molecular characterization of the 5.8S rDNA-ITS region, and SANGER sequencing</p>

Resultados e Conclusão

<p>Were collected 52 bat specimens from two families, Molossidae and Phyllostomidae. Being, 10 bats were collected in urban regions (Caranazal), and 42 bats in peri-urban (UFOPA).Twenty-five filamentous fungi and three yeast fungi were isolated from the urban region. From the peri-urban region, 89 filamentous fungi and seven yeasts were isolated. 70% of both regions contained <em>Penicillium sp</em>. The fungi <em>Paecilomyces sp</em>, <em>Purpureocilium sp</em>, <em>Fusarium sp</em>, Tricoderma and Aspergilus were more common in the urban region. The fungi of the order Mucorales were found more frequently in peri-urban areas. Conclusion: We concluded that we found a fungal mycobiota with greater diversity in urban areas compared to peri-urban areas. We also identified fungi of medical interest such as <em>Penicilum lilacinum</em>. Kokurewicz et al. showed that the concentration of fungi is associated with the number of bats, suggesting that airborne fungi from bats are a potential threat to public health. We emphasise that this is a pioneering study in chiropteran fungal research and studies such as this are extremely important for understanding disease transmission cycles between mammals and humans.</p>

Palavras Chave

*Keywords: bats; mycodiversity; molecular biology; fungi