Identification of a NovelYersinia enterocoliticaStrain from Bats in Association with a Bat Die-Off That Occurred in Georgia (Caucasus)

Yersinia entercoliticais a bacterial species within the genusYersinia, mostly known as a human enteric pathogen, but also recognized as a zoonotic agent widespread in domestic pigs. Findings of this bacterium in wild animals are very limited. The current report presents results of the identification of cultures ofY. entercoliticafrom dead bats after a massive bat die-off in a cave in western Georgia. The growth of bacterial colonies morphologically suspected asYersiniawas observed from three intestine tissues of 11 bats belonging to theMiniopterus schreibersiispecies. These three isolates were identified asY. enterocoliticabased on the API29 assay. No growth ofBrucellaorFrancisellabacteria was observed from tissues of dead bats. Full genomes (a size between 4.6-4.7 Mbp) of theYersiniastrains isolated from bats were analyzed. The phylogenetic sequence analyses of the genomes demonstrated that all strains were nearly identical and formed a distinct cluster with the closest similarity to the environmental isolate O:36/1A. The bat isolates represent low-pathogenicity Biotype 1A strains lacking the genes for the Ail, Yst-a, Ysa, and virulence plasmid pYV, while containing the genes for Inv, YstB, and MyfA. Further characterization of the novel strains cultured from bats can provide a clue for the determination of the pathogenic properties of those strains.