Molecular and phylogenetic analysis ofspp. in sheep and goats from six provinces of China.

Abstract

Members of the genusare important emerging tick-borne pathogens in both humans and animals in tropical and subtropical areas. Here, we investigated the presence ofspp. in 621 sheep and 710 goats from six provinces of China. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing were conducted to determine the prevalence ofandtargeting the 16S ribosomal RNA or the major surface protein 4 gene. PCR revealedin 39.0% (240/621) of sheep and 45.5% (323/710) of goats. The most frequently detected species was(88/621, 14.2% for sheep; 129/710, 18.2% for goats), followed by(60/621, 9.7% for sheep; 74/710, 10.4% for goats) and(33/621, 5.3% for sheep; 15/710, 2.1% for goats). Additionally, eight sheep and 20 goats were found to be infected with three pathogens simultaneously. DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of these threespecies in the investigated areas, and phylogenetic analysis indicated that there was geographic segregation to a certain extent, as well as a relationship between the host and cluster ofThe results of the present study provide valuable data that helps understand the epidemiology of anaplasmosis in ruminants from China.