@article{fdi:010069338,
  title = {{B}at flies ({D}iptera : {N}ycteribiidae and {S}treblidae) infesting cave-dwelling bats in {G}abon : diversity, dynamics and potential role in {P}olychromophilus melanipherus transmission},
  author = {{O}bame-{N}koghe, {J}udicael and {R}ahola, {N}il and {B}ourgarel, {M}. and {Y}angari, {P}. and {P}rugnolle, {F}ranck and {M}aganga, {G}. {D}. and {L}eroy, {E}ric and {F}ontenille, {D}idier and {A}yala, {D}iego and {P}aupy, {C}hristophe},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{B}ackground: {E}vidence of haemosporidian infections in bats and bat flies has motivated a growing interest in characterizing their transmission cycles. {I}n {G}abon ({C}entral {A}frica), many caves house massive colonies of bats that are known hosts of {P}olychromophilus {D}ionisi parasites, presumably transmitted by blood-sucking bat flies. {H}owever, the role of bat flies in bat malaria transmission remains under-documented. {M}ethods: {A}n entomological survey was carried out in four caves in {G}abon to investigate bat fly diversity, infestation rates and host preferences and to determine their role in {P}olychromophilus parasite transmission. {B}at flies were sampled for 2-4 consecutive nights each month from {F}ebruary to {A}pril 2011 ({F}aucon and {Z}adie caves) and from {M}ay 2012 to {A}pril 2013 ({K}essipoughou and {D}jibilong caves). {B}at flies isolated from the fur of each captured bat were morphologically identified and screened for infection by haemosporidian parasites using primers targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. {R}esults: {A}mong the 1,154 bats captured and identified as {M}iniopterus inflatus {T}homas (n = 354), {H}ipposideros caffer {S}undevall complex (n = 285), {H}ipposideros gigas {W}agner (n = 317), {R}ousettus aegyptiacus {G}eoffroy (n = 157, and {C}oleura afra {P}eters (n = 41), 439 (38.0 %) were infested by bat flies. {T}he 1,063 bat flies recovered from bats belonged to five taxa: {N}ycteribia schmidlii scotti {F}alcoz, {E}ucampsipoda africana {T}heodor, {P}enicillidia fulvida {B}igot, {B}rachytarsina allaudi {F}alcoz and {R}aymondia huberi {F}rauenfeld group. {T}he mean infestation rate varied significantly according to the bat species ({ANOVA}, {F}((4,75)) = 13.15, {P} < 0.001) and a strong association effect between bat fly species and host bat species was observed. {P}olychromophilus melanipherus {D}ionisi was mainly detected in {N}. s. scotti and {P}. fulvida and less frequently in {E}. africana, {R}. huberi group and {B}. allaudi bat flies. {T}hese results suggest that {N}. s. scotti and {P}. fulvida could potentially be involved in {P}. melanipherus transmission among cave-dwelling bats. {S}equence analysis revealed eight haplotypes of {P}. melanipherus. {C}onclusions: {T}his work represents the first documented record of the cave-dwelling bat fly fauna in {G}abon and significantly contributes to our understanding of bat fly host-feeding behavior and their respective roles in {P}olychromophilus transmission},
  keywords = {{B}at fly ; {E}ctoparasites ; {B}ats ; mt{DNA} ; {C}ytochrome b ; {P}olychromophilus ; {C}aves ; {G}abon ; {C}entral {A}frica ; {GABON}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}arasites and {V}ectors},
  volume = {9},
  numero = {},
  pages = {art. 333 [12 p.]},
  ISSN = {1756-3305},
  year = {2016},
  DOI = {10.1186/s13071-016-1625-z},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010069338},
}