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Population genetic structure of the Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) in western Europe and the associated occurrence of rabies

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Abstract

The Daubenton’s bat is widespread and common in the UK and countries bordering the English Channel and North Sea. European bat lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2), a rabies virus, has been detected in Daubenton’s bats in the UK and continental Europe. Investigating the relatedness of colonies and gene flow between these regions would allow regional estimates of the movement of Daubenton’s bats and thus the potential for disease transmission. The genetic structure of the Daubenton’s bat in western Europe was investigated by analysing variability at eight microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity was found to be high at all sites (H E = 0.73–0.84), with little differentiation between bats sampled in the UK and continental Europe. Mantel tests indicated a significant correlation between geographic distance and pair-wise F ST (P = 0.000), between colonies sampled in Scotland and northern England. However, this was not continuous throughout the sampled range, with evidence of panmixia within the area sampled in continental Europe. Assignment tests show no evidence that the (potential) EBLV-2 sero-positive and virus positive bats were more likely to have originated from the continental rather than UK populations. There is no sufficient significant genetic differentiation amongst most UK and continental colonies to conclude that EBLV-2 is maintained in the UK by immigration. Results show that it is likely to be maintained at a low endemic level within the UK. The relative genetic uniformity of UK and continental populations implies that there is no migration barrier to EBLV-2, between these regions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Food and Farming Group of Defra for funding this study. In addition, the assistance of Tony Hutson, Sarah Harris, Alex Lefevre, Stephane Roue, Arno Le Mouel, Patrick Chanony, Eric Petit, Nadia Bruyndonckx, Paddy Sleeman and Alexandr Botvinkin proved invaluable in collecting Daubenton’s wing punch samples from the UK, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland and Lake Baikal, Russia. The authors would also like to thank local bat groups who assisted in finding sampling locations and the owners of premises from which sampling was carried out for their tolerance and hospitality during the collection periods. Finally, the assistance of Tony Fooks and Sharon Brookes (Veterinary Laboratories Agency), for the provision of DNA from the EBLV-2 virus-positive Daubenton’s bats included in this study, was also gratefully received. These experiments comply with the current laws of the countries in which they were performed.

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Correspondence to Graham C. Smith.

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Communicated by F.-J. Kaup

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Atterby, H., Aegerter, J.N., Smith, G.C. et al. Population genetic structure of the Daubenton’s bat (Myotis daubentonii) in western Europe and the associated occurrence of rabies. Eur J Wildl Res 56, 67–81 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-009-0292-1

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