DOI: 10.5061/dryad.gm061
title: Data from: Multihost Bartonella parasites display covert host specificity even when transmitted by generalist vectors

description: Many parasites infect multiple sympatric host species, and there is a
 general assumption that parasite transmission between co-occurring host
 species is commonplace. Such between-species transmission could be key to
 parasite persistence within a disease reservoir and is consequently an
 emerging focus for disease control. However, while a growing body of
 theory indicates the potential importance of between-species transmission
 for parasite persistence, conclusive empirical evidence from natural
 communities is lacking, and the assumption that between-species
 transmission is inevitable may therefore be wrong. We investigated the
 occurrence of between-species transmission in a well-studied multihost
 parasite system. We identified the flea-borne Bartonella parasites
 infecting sympatric populations of Apodemus sylvaticus (wood mice) and
 Myodes glareolus (bank voles) in the UK and confirmed that several
 Bartonella species infect both rodent species. However, counter to
 previous knowledge, genetic characterization of these parasites revealed
 covert host specificity, where each host species is associated with a
 distinct assemblage of genetic variants, indicating that between-species
 transmission is rare. Limited between-species transmission could result
 from rare encounters between one host species and the parasites infecting
 another and/or host–parasite incompatibility. We investigated the
 occurrence of such encounter and compatibility barriers by identifying the
 flea species associated with each rodent host, and the Bartonella variants
 carried by individual fleas. We found that the majority of fleas were
 host-generalists but the assemblage of Bartonella variants in fleas tended
 to reflect the assemblage of Bartonella variants in the host species they
 were collected from, thus providing evidence of encounter barriers
 mediated by limited between-species flea transfer. However, we also found
 several fleas that were carrying variants never found in the host species
 from which they were collected, indicating some degree of host–pathogen
 incompatibility when barriers to encounter are overcome. Overall, these
 findings challenge our default perceptions of multihost parasite
 persistence, as they show that despite considerable overlaps in host
 species ecology, separate populations of the same parasite species may
 circulate and persist independently in different sympatric host species.
 This questions our fundamental understanding of endemic transmission
 dynamics and the control of infection within natural reservoir
 communities.
description: Rodent Bartonella
 Infection Data (Species-level Bartonella identification)Bartonella infection
 status of all blood samples taken from Wood Mice and Bank Voles at Manor
 Wood (MW) at 3 sites in northwest England during 2011 and 2012 -
 Maresfield and Gordale (MFG) and Rode Hall (RH). Where
 "NUM.pITS.BANDS" is &gt;1, this indicates that multiple bands
 were present on the gel following a genus-specific Bartonella PCR, thus
 indicating coinfection. Bartonella species identity were determined by
 size of the PCR amplicon. Presence or absence of each of 7 Bartonella
 species is indicated in separate columns. "HOST.ID" is a unique
 number given to each individual rodent using a subcutaneous microchip.
 "BLOOD.NO" identifies unique blood samples.Rodent_Bartonella_Species_Data_Withenshaw_et_al.csvRodent Bartonella Sequence DataThe identity of pITS variants detected in wood mice and bank voles sampled from 3 sites in Northwest England during 2011-2012 - Manor Wood (MW), Maresfield and Gordale (MFG) and Rode Hall (RH). "HOST.ID" is a unique number given to each rodent using a subcutaneous microchip. "BLOOD.NO." is a number that identifies each unique blood sample. Species identity of Bartonella was first determined by running PCR amplicons on an agarose gel. Most Bartonella species differ in length at this region of DNA and positive samples were grouped accordingly (size A = doshiae in BV and doshiae-like in WM, size B = grahamii, size C = taylorii, size D = birtlesii, size E = rochalimae-like in BV and BGA in WM). pITS band size is given for each sample, as multiple bands may have been sequenced from the same coinfected sample.Rodent_Bartonella_Sequence_Data_Withenshaw_et_al.csvFlea DataThe species identity of fleas collected from Wood Mice and Bank Voles at 3 different sites in northwest England during 2012-2014 - Maresfield and Goredale (MFG), Rode Hall (RH) and Haddon Wood (HW). "FLEA.ID" is a unique identifier given to each flea collected. Information is given on whether DNA was extracted from each flea ("DNA.EXTRACTED.FROM.FLEA"), whether Bartonella DNA was detected in each flea ("BARTONELLA.DETECTED.IN.FLEA") and whether the Bartonella DNA was sequenced at the pITS region ("FLEA.BARTONELLA.SEQUENCED"), along with the pITS Bartonella variant detected in each flea ("BARTONELLA.VARIANT.IN.FLEA"). Information is also given about the rodent host from which each flea was collected, including "HOST.ID" (a unique identifier given to each rodent using a subcutaneous microchip), "HOST.BLOOD.NO." (the corresponding blood sample for each host if collected during the same sampling session), "BLOOD.BARTONELLA.PRESENT" (the infection status of host blood samples where available) and "BLOOD.BARTONELLA.VARIANT" (the pITS variant of any corresponding Bartonella-positive blood samples that were also sequenced at the pITS region).Flea_Data_Withenshaw_et_al.csv