Browsing by Author "Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M."

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    Domestic horses within the Maya biosphere reserve: A possible threat to the Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii)
    Lepe-López, Manuel; García-Anleu, Rony; Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.; Ponce, Gabriela; Gonzalez, Mariano; Escobar, Luis E. (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2018)
    The Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is the largest herbivore in the Neotropics classified as “endangered.” It has been proposed that Equine Infectious Anemia virus (EIA) is a disease of horses with potential to lead to further decline of T. bairdii populations. In this study, we used domestic horses as sentinels for EIA in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala. In total, 40 % (13) horses tested were seropositive to EIA. This study may inform wildlife management strategies inside protected areas by considering the threat from incursions of domestic animals inside core areas of natural reserves.
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    Gut microbiota and their putative metabolic functions in fragmented Bengal tiger population of Nepal
    Karmacharya, Dibesh; Manandhar, Prajwol; Manandhar, Sulochana; Sherchan, Adarsh M.; Sharma, Ajay N.; Joshi, Jyoti; Bista, Manisha; Bajracharya, Shailendra; Awasthi, Nagendra P.; Sharma, Netra; Llewellyn, Bronwyn; Waits, Lisette P.; Thapa, Kanchan; Kelly, Marcella J.; Vuyisich, Momchilo; Starkenburg, Shawn R.; Hero, Jean-Marc; Hughes, Jane; Wultsch, Claudia; Bertola, Laura; Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M.; Sinha, Amit K. (PLOS, 2019-08-29)
    Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) serve a pivotal role as an apex predator in forest ecosystems. To increase our knowledge on factors impacting the viability and health of this endangered species, we studied the gut microbiota in 32 individual Bengal tigers from three geographically separated areas (Chitwan National Park (CNP), Bardia National Park (BNP) and Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR)) in Nepal, using noninvasive genetic sampling methods. Gut microbiota influence the immune system, impact various physiological functions, and modulates metabolic reactions, that ultimately impact the host health, behavior and development. Across the tiger populations in Nepal, we found significant differences in the composition of microbial communities based on their geographic locations. Specifically, we detected significant differences between CNP and the other two protected areas (CNP vs BNP: pseudo t = 1.944, P = 0.006; CNP vs SWR: pseudo t = 1.9942, P = 0.0071), but no differences between BNP and SWR. This mirrors what has been found for tiger gene flow in the same populations, suggesting gut microbiota composition and host gene flow may be linked. Furthermore, predictive metagenome functional content analysis (PICRUSt) revealed a higher functional enrichment and diversity for significant gut microbiota in the Chitwan tiger population and the lowest enrichment and diversity in Suklaphanta. The CNP tiger population contained higher proportions of microbiota that are associated with predicted functions relevant for metabolism of amino acid, lipid, xenobiotics biodegradation, terpenoides and polyketides than the SWR population. We conclude the tiger population structure, gut microbiota profile and associated functional metabolic categories are correlated, with geographically most separated CNP and SWR tiger population having the most distinct and different host genotype and microbiota profiles. Our work dramatically expands the understanding of tiger microbiota in wild populations and provides a valuable case study on how to investigate genetic diversity at different hierarchical levels, including hosts as well as their microbial communities.
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    Using host traits to predict reservoir host species of rabies virus
    Worsley-Tonks, Katherine E. L.; Escobar, Luis E.; Biek, Roman; Castaneda-Guzman, Mariana; Craft, Meggan E.; Streicker, Daniel G.; White, Lauren A.; Fountain-Jones, Nicholas M. (PLoS, 2020-12-01)
    Wildlife are important reservoirs for many pathogens, yet the role that different species play in pathogen maintenance frequently remains unknown. This is the case for rabies, a viral disease of mammals. While Carnivora (carnivores) and Chiroptera (bats) are the canonical mammalian orders known to be responsible for the maintenance and onward transmission of rabies Lyssavirus (RABV), the role of most species within these orders remains unknown and is continually changing as a result of contemporary host shifting. We combined a trait-based analytical approach with gradient boosting machine learning models to identify physiological and ecological host features associated with being a reservoir for RABV. We then used a cooperative game theory approach to determine species-specific traits associated with known RABV reservoirs. Being a carnivore reservoir for RABV was associated with phylogenetic similarity to known RABV reservoirs, along with other traits such as having larger litters and earlier sexual maturity. For bats, location in the Americas and geographic range were the most important predictors of RABV reservoir status, along with having a large litter. Our models identified 44 carnivore and 34 bat species that are currently not recognized as RABV reservoirs, but that have trait profiles suggesting their capacity to be or become reservoirs. Further, our findings suggest that potential reservoir species among bats and carnivores occur both within and outside of areas with current RABV circulation. These results show the ability of a trait-based approach to detect potential reservoirs of infection and could inform rabies control programs and surveillance efforts by identifying the types of species and traits that facilitate RABV maintenance and transmission.