Bat Ecology and Microbiome of the Gut: A Narrative Review of Associated Potentials in Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases

Abstract

This work provides an overview on the impact of bats’ diet on their intestinal microorganism community and its influence on potential pathogenicity. Human expansion generates natural habitat alterations, which force bats to seek alternative sites, leading to contact with other animals, including humans. Exploring the relationship between the dietary habits of bats and the variety of their microbiome could contribute elucidating the potential role of bats as reservoirs of multidrug-resistant microorganisms and their implications in the dissemination of mutating viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment and possibly in their transmission to human and to domestic and wild animals.