Identification of Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp., and an Ehrlichia canis-like agent in Rhipicephalus microplus from Southwest and South-Central China |
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| Institution: | 1. National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 102206 Changping District, Beijing, China;2. Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 430024 Wuhan, Hubei Province, China;3. Beijing General Station of Animal Husbandry, No.15, Beiyuan Road, 100107 Chaoyang District, Beijing, China;4. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, 430071 Wuhan, Hubei Province, China;5. Department of Pathogenic Biology, College of Basic Medicine, Chengde Medical University, Chengde 067000, Hebei, China;1. Lu''an Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Lu''an, China;2. Emergency Department, Lu ''an affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Lu''an, China;3. School of Humanistic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China;4. Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hefei, China;1. Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;2. Department of Veterinary Services, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Malaysia, Federal Government Administrative Center, Putrajaya, Malaysia;3. Veterinary Research Institute, 59, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia;4. Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sivas Cumhuriyet, Sivas 58140, Turkey;2. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University, Bishkek 720044, Kyrgyzstan |
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| Abstract: | Rhipicephalus microplus is considered to be the most important tick infesting cattle, buffalo, horse, goats as well as other animals. They transmit diseases between domestic animals and act as vectors of a variety of zoonotic pathogens. Although pathogens harbored by R. microplus have been extensively studied, the Rickettsiales pathogens vectored by R. microplus in some areas of China remained largely unexplored. From August to October 2020, a total of 291 R. microplus ticks were collected from goats and cattle in three Southern China provinces, Guangxi (n = 138), Sichuan (n = 120) and Hubei (n = 33) provinces. Phylogenetic analysis based on COI gene sequences shows that these ticks are divided into three distinct clades, indicating the remarkable genetic diversity of R. microplus ticks in China. These samples were subsequently screened for the presence of Rickettsia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia using conventional PCR and sequencing. Subsequently, five bacterial species were identified. Out of the 120 tick DNA samples from Sichuan province, 35.83% (43/120) were positive for Rickettsia sp. belonging to spotted fever group (SFG), 12.50% (15/120) were positive for Anaplasma marginale and 0.83% (1/120) was identified as A. platys. From the 138 DNA samples from Guangxi province, an Ehrlichia canis-like and Rickettsia sp. were detected, with a positive rate of 11.59% (16/138) and 2.17% (3/138), respectively. A. capra DNA was detected in 4 out of 33 (12.12%) samples from Hubei province. Notably, the 16S, gltA and groEL sequences of the E. canis-like are closely related to the E. canis strain previously identified from China, and form a distinct cluster in the phylogenetic trees. Collectively, our results expand the knowledge on tick-borne Rickettsiales pathogens in China. Because the state of engorgement of ticks was not recorded, it is not clear at this stage whether these pathogens are infecting the ticks or are simply present in the blood meal. Given the public health significance of SFG Rickettsia, A. capra, A. platys and E. canis, a thorough investigation of the diversity and presence of pathogens in R. microplus in areas with tick-associated diseases are needed. |
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