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Popov IV, Popov IV, Krikunova AA, Lipilkina TA, Derezina TN, Chikindas ML, Venema K, Ermakov AM. Gut Microbiota Composition of Insectivorous Synanthropic and Fructivorous Zoo Bats: A Direct Metagenomic Comparison. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:17301. [PMID: 38139130 PMCID: PMC10744024 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242417301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Bats are natural reservoirs for many emerging viral diseases. That is why their virome is widely studied. But at the same time, studies of their bacterial gut microbiota are limited, creating a degree of uncertainty about the role of bats in global microbial ecology. In this study, we analyzed gut microbiota of insectivorous Nyctalus noctula and Vespertilio murinus from rehabilitation centers from Rostov-on-Don and Moscow, respectively, and fructivorous Carollia perspicillata from the Moscow Zoo based on V3-V4 16S rRNA metagenomic sequencing. We revealed that microbial diversity significantly differs between the insectivorous and fructivorous species studied, while the differences between N. noctula and V. murinus are less pronounced, which shows that bats' gut microbiota is not strictly species-specific and depends more on diet type. In the gut microbiota of synanthropic bats, we observed bacteria that are important for public health and animal welfare such as Bacteroides, Enterobacter, Clostridiaceae, Enterococcus, Ureaplasma, Faecalibacterium, and Helicobacter, as well as some lactic acid bacteria such as Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Weisella. All these bacteria, except for Bacteroides and Weisella, were significantly less abundant in C. perspicillata. This study provides a direct metagenomic comparison of synanthropic insectivorous and zoo fructivorous bats, suggesting future directions for studying these animals' role in microbial ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V. Popov
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
- Division of Immunobiology and Biomedicine, Center of Genetics and Life Sciences, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Federal Territory Sirius, Russia
- Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI), Maastricht University Campus Venlo, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands;
| | - Ilia V. Popov
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Anastasya A. Krikunova
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Tatyana A. Lipilkina
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Tatyana N. Derezina
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Michael L. Chikindas
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
- Health Promoting Naturals Laboratory, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 119435 Moscow, Russia
| | - Koen Venema
- Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI), Maastricht University Campus Venlo, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands;
| | - Alexey M. Ermakov
- Faculty of Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (A.A.K.); (T.A.L.); (T.N.D.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
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Popov IV, Berezinskaia IS, Popov IV, Martiusheva IB, Tkacheva EV, Gorobets VE, Tikhmeneva IA, Aleshukina AV, Tverdokhlebova TI, Chikindas ML, Venema K, Ermakov AM. Cultivable Gut Microbiota in Synanthropic Bats: Shifts of Its Composition and Diversity Associated with Hibernation. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3658. [PMID: 38067008 PMCID: PMC10705225 DOI: 10.3390/ani13233658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Revised: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The role of bats in the global microbial ecology no doubt is significant due to their unique immune responses, ability to fly, and long lifespan, all contributing to pathogen spread. Some of these animals hibernate during winter, which results in the altering of their physiology. However, gut microbiota shifts during hibernation is little studied. In this research, we studied cultivable gut microbiota composition and diversity of Nyctalus noctula before, during, and after hibernation in a bat rehabilitation center. Gut microorganisms were isolated on a broad spectrum of culture media, counted, and identified with mass spectrometry. Linear modeling was used to investigate associations between microorganism abundance and N. noctula physiological status, and alpha- and beta-diversity indexes were used to explore diversity changes. As a result, most notable changes were observed in Serratia liquefaciens, Hafnia alvei, Staphylococcus sciuri, and Staphylococcus xylosus, which were significantly more highly abundant in hibernating bats, while Citrobacter freundii, Klebsiella oxytoca, Providencia rettgeri, Citrobacter braakii, and Pedicoccus pentosaceus were more abundant in active bats before hibernation. The alpha-diversity was the lowest in hibernating bats, while the beta-diversity differed significantly among all studied periods. Overall, this study shows that hibernation contributes to changes in bat cultivable gut microbiota composition and diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor V. Popov
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
- Division of Immunobiology and Biomedicine, Center of Genetics and Life Sciences, Sirius University of Science and Technology, 354340 Federal Territory Sirius, Russia
- Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI), Maastricht University—Campus Venlo, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands;
| | - Iraida S. Berezinskaia
- Rostov Research Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, 344010 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.S.B.); (I.B.M.); (A.V.A.)
| | - Ilia V. Popov
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Irina B. Martiusheva
- Rostov Research Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, 344010 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.S.B.); (I.B.M.); (A.V.A.)
| | - Elizaveta V. Tkacheva
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Vladislav E. Gorobets
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Iuliia A. Tikhmeneva
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
| | - Anna V. Aleshukina
- Rostov Research Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, 344010 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.S.B.); (I.B.M.); (A.V.A.)
| | - Tatiana I. Tverdokhlebova
- Rostov Research Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology, 344010 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.S.B.); (I.B.M.); (A.V.A.)
| | - Michael L. Chikindas
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
- Health Promoting Naturals Laboratory, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers State University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Department of General Hygiene, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, 119435 Moscow, Russia
| | - Koen Venema
- Centre for Healthy Eating & Food Innovation (HEFI), Maastricht University—Campus Venlo, 5928 SZ Venlo, The Netherlands;
| | - Alexey M. Ermakov
- Faculty “Bioengineering and Veterinary Medicine” and Center for Agrobiotechnology, Don State Technical University, 344000 Rostov-on-Don, Russia; (I.V.P.); (E.V.T.); (V.E.G.); (I.A.T.); (M.L.C.); (A.M.E.)
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Tan CCS, Trew J, Peacock TP, Mok KY, Hart C, Lau K, Ni D, Orme CDL, Ransome E, Pearse WD, Coleman CM, Bailey D, Thakur N, Quantrill JL, Sukhova K, Richard D, Kahane L, Woodward G, Bell T, Worledge L, Nunez-Mino J, Barclay W, van Dorp L, Balloux F, Savolainen V. Genomic screening of 16 UK native bat species through conservationist networks uncovers coronaviruses with zoonotic potential. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3322. [PMID: 37369644 PMCID: PMC10300128 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38717-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
There has been limited characterisation of bat-borne coronaviruses in Europe. Here, we screened for coronaviruses in 48 faecal samples from 16 of the 17 bat species breeding in the UK, collected through a bat rehabilitation and conservationist network. We recovered nine complete genomes, including two novel coronavirus species, across six bat species: four alphacoronaviruses, a MERS-related betacoronavirus, and four closely related sarbecoviruses. We demonstrate that at least one of these sarbecoviruses can bind and use the human ACE2 receptor for infecting human cells, albeit suboptimally. Additionally, the spike proteins of these sarbecoviruses possess an R-A-K-Q motif, which lies only one nucleotide mutation away from a furin cleavage site (FCS) that enhances infectivity in other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. However, mutating this motif to an FCS does not enable spike cleavage. Overall, while UK sarbecoviruses would require further molecular adaptations to infect humans, their zoonotic risk warrants closer surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric C S Tan
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Rd, London, NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Jahcub Trew
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Thomas P Peacock
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St Marys Medical School, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Kai Yi Mok
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St Marys Medical School, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Charlie Hart
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Kelvin Lau
- Protein Production and Structure Core Facility (PTPSP), School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rte Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Dongchun Ni
- Laboratory of Biological Electron Microscopy (LBEM), School of Basic Science, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Rte Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - C David L Orme
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Emma Ransome
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - William D Pearse
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Christopher M Coleman
- Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Derby Rd, Lenton, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK
| | | | - Nazia Thakur
- The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, GU24 0NF, UK
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
| | - Jessica L Quantrill
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St Marys Medical School, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Ksenia Sukhova
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St Marys Medical School, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Damien Richard
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Laura Kahane
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Guy Woodward
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Thomas Bell
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Lisa Worledge
- The Bat Conservation Trust, Studio 15 Cloisters House, Cloisters Business Centre, 8 Battersea Park Road, London, SW8 4BG, UK
| | - Joe Nunez-Mino
- The Bat Conservation Trust, Studio 15 Cloisters House, Cloisters Business Centre, 8 Battersea Park Road, London, SW8 4BG, UK
| | - Wendy Barclay
- Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, St Marys Medical School, Paddington, London, W2 1PG, UK
| | - Lucy van Dorp
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Francois Balloux
- UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Vincent Savolainen
- Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot, SL5 7PY, UK.
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Apaa T, Withers AJ, Staley C, Blanchard A, Bennett M, Bremner-Harrison S, Chadwick EA, Hailer F, Harrison SWR, Loose M, Mathews F, Tarlinton R. Sarbecoviruses of British horseshoe bats; sequence variation and epidemiology. J Gen Virol 2023; 104. [PMID: 37319000 DOI: 10.1099/jgv.0.001859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Horseshoe bats are the natural hosts of the Sarbecovirus subgenus that includes SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV- 2. Despite the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still little known about the underlying epidemiology and virology of sarbecoviruses in their natural hosts, leaving large gaps in our pandemic preparedness. Here we describe the results of PCR testing for sarbecoviruses in the two horseshoe bat species (Rhinolophus hipposideros and R. ferrumequinum) present in Great Britain, collected in 2021-22 during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and ninety seven R. hipposideros samples from 33 roost sites and 277 R. ferrumequinum samples from 20 roost sites were tested. No coronaviruses were detected in any samples from R. ferrumequinum whereas 44 and 56 % of individual and pooled (respectively) faecal samples from R. hipposideros across multiple roost sites tested positive in a sarbecovirus-specific qPCR. Full genome sequences were generated from three of the positive samples (and partial genomes from two more) using Illumina RNAseq on unenriched samples. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the obtained sequences belong to the same monophyletic clade, with >95 % similarity to previously-reported European isolates from R. hipposideros. The sequences differed in the presence or absence of accessory genes ORF 7b, 9b and 10. All lacked the furin cleavage site of SARS-CoV-2 spike gene and are therefore unlikely to be infective for humans. These results demonstrate a lack, or at least low incidence, of SARS-CoV-2 spill over from humans to susceptible GB bats, and confirm that sarbecovirus infection is widespread in R. hipposideros. Despite frequently sharing roost sites with R. ferrumequinum, no evidence of cross-species transmission was found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ternenge Apaa
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Addlestone, UK
| | - Amy J Withers
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
- Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Addlestone, UK
| | - Ceri Staley
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Adam Blanchard
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Malcolm Bennett
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
| | - Samantha Bremner-Harrison
- School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell, UK
- Vincent Wildlife Trust, Herefordshire, UK
| | - Elizabeth A Chadwick
- School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell, UK
- Organisms and Environment, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK
| | - Frank Hailer
- Organisms and Environment, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK
| | - Stephen W R Harrison
- School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell, UK
| | - Matthew Loose
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Fiona Mathews
- School of Life sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Rachael Tarlinton
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK
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Dakroub H, Russo D, Cistrone L, Serra F, Fusco G, De Carlo E, Amoroso MG. A First Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Circulation in Bats of Central-Southern Italy. Pathogens 2022; 11:742. [PMID: 35889988 PMCID: PMC9319265 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11070742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
One serious concern associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is that the virus might spill back from humans to wildlife, which would render some animal species reservoirs of the human virus. We assessed the potential circulation of SARS-CoV-2 caused by reverse infection from humans to bats, by performing bat surveillance from different sites in Central-Southern Italy. We restricted our survey to sampling techniques that are minimally invasive and can therefore be broadly applied by non-medical operators such as bat workers. We collected 240 droppings or saliva from 129 bats and tested them using specific and general primers for SARS-CoV-2 and coronaviruses, respectively. All samples (127 nasal swabs and 113 faecal droppings) were negative for SARS-CoV-2, and these results were confirmed by testing the samples with the Droplet Digital PCR. Additionally, pancoronavirus end-point RT-PCR was performed, and no sample showed specific bands. This outcome is a first step towards a better understanding of the reverse transmission of this virus to bats. Although the occurrence of a reverse zoonotic pattern can only be fully established by serological testing, the latter might represent an in-depth follow-up to a broad-scale preliminary assessment performed with our approach. We encourage the systematic surveillance of bats to help prevent reverse zoonotic episodes that would jeopardize human health, as well as biodiversity conservation and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiba Dakroub
- Wildlife Research Unit, Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Italy; (H.D.); (D.R.)
- Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute,2, 80055 Portici, Italy; (F.S.); (G.F.); (E.D.C.)
| | - Danilo Russo
- Wildlife Research Unit, Dipartimento di Agraria, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Via Università, 100, 80055 Portici, Italy; (H.D.); (D.R.)
| | - Luca Cistrone
- Forestry and Conservation, Via Botticelli, 14, 03043 Cassino, Italy;
| | - Francesco Serra
- Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute,2, 80055 Portici, Italy; (F.S.); (G.F.); (E.D.C.)
| | - Giovanna Fusco
- Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute,2, 80055 Portici, Italy; (F.S.); (G.F.); (E.D.C.)
| | - Esterina De Carlo
- Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute,2, 80055 Portici, Italy; (F.S.); (G.F.); (E.D.C.)
| | - Maria Grazia Amoroso
- Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute,2, 80055 Portici, Italy; (F.S.); (G.F.); (E.D.C.)
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