Genome exploration and predicted antimicrobial resistance profiles of Bartonella spp. in Thailand
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Bartonellosis, caused by Bartonella species, is a group of zoonotic infectious diseases affecting both humans and animals. Rodents serve as important reservoirs, particularly in Southeast Asia, where pathogen diversity remains underexplored.
Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the genomic features and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Bartonella isolates obtained from rodent and deer hosts in Thailand.
Materials and methods: Six Bartonella isolates recovered from rodent and deer blood samples in Thailand were confirmed by gltA and rpoB PCR and subjected to whole-genome sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Genome quality and annotation were assessed using QUAST and Prokka, respectively. Taxonomic assignment and prediction of antimicrobial resistance-associated determinants were performed using CZ ID, while orthologous gene clusters were compared using OrthoVenn3.
Results: Whole-genome sequencing and metagenomic analyses were performed on six Bartonella isolates. Sequence identity analysis revealed that all isolates were closely related to Bartonella vinsonii, suggesting potential zoonotic transmission. Additional species identified included B. schoenbuchensis, B. kosoyi, and B. tribocorum, which are primarily associated with animal infections, as well as B. grahamii, a species with known zoonotic potential. Draft genome sizes ranged from 1.52 to 2.57 Mb, with predicted gene counts between 1,258 and 2,115. The largest genome was observed in isolate RT1 (B. grahamii). Analysis of predicted antimicrobial resistance-associated genes revealed a diverse distribution of putative resistance determinants across the isolates. Most of the identified determinants were annotated as protein homologs and associated with antibiotic inactivation mechanisms.
Conclusion: The genomic data generated in this study provide valuable resources for developing molecular markers for Bartonella detection and surveillance. These genomic findings provide preliminary information on putative antimicrobial resistance-associated determinants in Bartonella spp.; however, phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing is required to confirm their functional relevance.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Personal views expressed by the contributors in their articles are not necessarily those of the Journal of Associated Medical Sciences, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University.
References
Dehio C. Molecular and cellular basis of Bartonella pathogenesis. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2004; 58: 365-90. doi: 10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123700.
Harms A, Dehio C. Intruders below the radar: molecular pathogenesis of Bartonella spp. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2012; 25(1): 42-78. doi: 10.1128/CMR.05009-11.
Deng H, Pang Q, Zhao B, Vayssier-Taussat M. Molecular mechanisms of Bartonella and mammalian erythrocyte interactions: a review. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2018; 8: 431. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2018.00431.
Kosoy M, Goodrich I. Comparative ecology of Bartonella and Brucella infections in wild carnivores. Front Vet Sci. 2019; 5: 322. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00322.
Zarea AAK, Laidoudi Y, Odigie AE, Mrenoshki D, Iulietto MF, Greco G, et al. Estimated prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in small mammals in Europe: systematic review and metaanalysis. One Health. 2025; 21: 101263. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101263.
Yao XY, Liu H, Sun J, Zhang YQ, Lv ZH, Zhang XL, et al. Epidemiology and genetic diversity of Bartonella in rodents in urban areas of Guangzhou, southern China. Front Microbiol. 2022; 13: 942587. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.942587.
Pangjai D, Nimsuphan B, Petkanchanapong W, Wootta W, Boonyareth M, Rodkvamtook W, et al. First report of three novel Bartonella species isolated in rodents and shrews from nine provinces of Thailand. Vet World. 2022; 15(7): 1624-31. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1624-1631.
Pangjai D, Maruyama S, Boonma S, Petkanchanapong W, Wootta W, Sawanpanyalert P. Seroprevalence of antibodies against Bartonella henselae infection in cats and dogs along the northern borders of Thailand. Thai J Vet Med. 2011; 41(1): 95-8.
Inoue K, Maruyama S, Kabeya H, Kawanami K, Yanai K, Jitchum S, et al. Prevalence of Bartonella infection in cats and dogs in a metropolitan area, Thailand. Epidemiol Infect. 2009; 137(11): 1568-73. doi: 10.1017/S095026880900257X.
Satranarakun P, Maruyama S, Kabeya H, Sato S, Jitapalapong S, Jitchum S, et al. Prevalence of Bartonellainfection in well-cared cats in Bangkok metropolitan. Thai J Vet Med. 2016; 46(4): 537-44. doi: 10.56808/2985-1130.2774.
Srisanyong W, Takhampunya R, Boonmars T, Kerdsin A, Suksawat F. Prevalence of Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae, and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii in pet cats from four provincial communities in Thailand. Thai J Vet Med. 2016; 46(4): 649-56. doi: 10.56808/2985-1130.2786.
Saengsawang P, Kaewmongkol G, Inpankaew T. Molecular detection of Bartonella spp. and hematological evaluation in domestic cats and dogs from Bangkok, Thailand. Pathogens. 2021; 10(5): 503. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10050503.
Billeter SA, Colton L, Sangmaneedet S, Suksawat F, Evans BP, Kosoy MY. Molecular detection and identification of Bartonella species in rat fleas from northeastern Thailand. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2013; 89(3): 462-5. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.12-0483.
Castle KT, Kosoy M, Lerdthusnee K, Phelan L, Bai Y, Gage KL, et al. Prevalence and diversity of Bartonella in rodents of northern Thailand: a comparison with Bartonella in rodents from southern China. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2004; 70(4): 429-33.
Bai Y, Kosoy MY, Lerdthusnee K, Peruski LF, Richardson JH. Prevalence and genetic heterogeneity of Bartonella strains cultured from rodents from 17 provinces in Thailand. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2009; 81(5): 811-6. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2009.09-0294.
Pangjai D, Maruyama S, Boonmar S, Kabeya H, Sato S, Nimsuphan B, et al. Prevalence of zoonotic Bartonellaspecies among rodents and shrews in Thailand. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2014; 37(2): 109-14. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2013.12.001.
Klangthong K, Promsthaporn S, Leepitakrat S, Schuster AL, McCardle PW, Kosoy M, et al. The distribution and diversity of Bartonella species in rodents and their ectoparasites across Thailand. PLoS One. 2015; 10(10): e0140856. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140856.
Saisongkorh W, Wootta W, Sawanpanyalert P, Raoult D, Rolain JM. “Candidatus Bartonella thailandensis”: a new genotype of Bartonella identified from rodents. Vet Microbiol. 2009; 139(1-2): 197-201. doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.05.011.
Kosoy M, Bai Y, Sheff K, Hastings R, Smith-Carrier P, Bai X, et al. Identification of Bartonella infections in febrile human patients from Thailand and their potential animal reservoirs. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2010; 82(6): 1140-5. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2010.09-0778.
Xu AL, Chen YF, Mu L, Liu PB, Wang J, Li RX, et al. Bartonella prevalence and genome sequences in rodents in some regions of Xinjiang, China. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2023; 89(4): e0196422. doi: 10.1128/aem.01964-22.
Solis Cayo L, Hammerbauerová I, Sommer J, Nemati Z, Ballhorn W, Tsukayama P, et al. Genome sequences of three Bartonella schoenbuchensis strains from Czechia. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2024; 13(8): e0039724. doi: 10.1128/mra.00397-24.
Mu X, Liang J, Qian L, Zhou B, Zou X, Fu Y, et al. Genome analysis of ST1 Bartonella henselae, a zoonotic pathogen causing endocarditis in an elderly patient in China. Infect Drug Resist. 2023; 16: 6079-84. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S422345.
Chen S. fastp 1.0: An ultra-fast all-round tool for FASTQ data quality control and preprocessing. iMeta. 2025; 4(5): e70078. doi: 10.1002/imt2.70078.
Seemann T. Prokka: rapid prokaryotic genome annotation. Bioinformatics. 2014; 30(14): 2068-9. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu153.
Sun J, Lu F, Luo Y, Bie L, Xu L, Wang Y. OrthoVenn3: an integrated platform for exploring and visualizing orthologous data across genomes. Nucleic Acids Res. 2023; 51(W1): W397-403. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad313.
Wang WJ, Gao Q, Guo BZ, Xiao X, Han HJ. Genomic characterization of eight novel Bartonella species from bats and ectoparasites reveals phylogenetic diversity and host adaptation. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025; 19(10): e0013646. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013646.
Liu JP, Zhou Q, Zhang C, Wu Y, Ma XJ, Qi R. Pan-genome classification of the virulence spectrum of Bartonella and the variation of heme-binding protein virulence factor in isolates from the Tibetan Plateau. Microbiol Spectr. 2025; 13(12): e0046525. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00465-25.
Umeda K, Hirai Y. Draft genome sequences of five Bartonella henselae strains from shelter cats in Osaka, Japan. Microbiol Resour Announc. 2026;15(1): e00904-25. doi: 10.1128/mra.00904-25.
Sato S, Nishioka E, Kabeya H, Maruyama S. Genomic properties of a Bartonella quintana strain from Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) revealed by genome comparison with human and rhesus macaque strains. Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1): 10941. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-61782-0.
Biswas S, Rolain JM. Bartonella infection: treatment and drug resistance. Future Microbiol. 2010; 5(11): 1719-31. doi: 10.2217/fmb.10.133.
Angelakis E, Rolain JM, Raoult D, Brouqui P. Pathogenicity and treatment of Bartonella infections. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2014; 44(1): 16-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2014.04.006.
Dörbecker C, Sander A, Oberle K, Schülin-Casonato T. In vitro susceptibility of Bartonella species to 17 antimicrobial compounds: comparison of Etest and agar dilution. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2006; 58(4): 784-8. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkl341.
Gadila SKG, Embers ME. Antibiotic susceptibility of Bartonella grown in different culture conditions. Pathogens. 2021; 10(6): 718. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10060718.
Biswas S, Raoult D, Rolain JM. Molecular mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics in Bartonella bacilliformis. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2007; 59(6): 1065-70. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkm105.