The great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus ), widely distributed in Asia, is a natural reservoir for Yersinia pestis , Leishmania donovani and some species of helminths. In this study, 188 great gerbils were sampled in Alataw City and Manas County, northwestern China, and tested for the presence of Theileria , Hepatozoon and Taenia species by molecular methods. Theileria sp., named as “Candidatus Theileria xinjiangensis ”, was detected in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of 6.9% rodents. Six genotypes of “ Taenia sp. Rhombomys opimus ”, which were close to Taenia laticollis (87.3–94.0% identities), were detected in cyst liquid of 5.3% rodents. “ Hepatozoon ayorgbor- like” haemogregarines was detected in spleens of 1.6% rodents. To our best knowledge, Candidatus Theileria xinjiangensis , Hepatozoon ayorgbor -like and genotypes of “ Taenia sp. Rhombomys opimus ” were found for the first time in the great gerbil. These results extend our knowledge on the diversity and pathogenesis of Theileria , Hepatozoon and Taenia species.

Tacheng tick virus 1 (TcTV-1) and Songling virus (SGLV) were originally found in human patients in China who had had tick bites. Tamdy virus (TAMV) was detected for the first time in a tick-infested person from Kyrgyzstan in 1973. In this study, 276 great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) were collected in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. The total RNA of individual spleen samples was extracted, and the viral L segments of TcTV-1, SGLV, and TAMV were detected by nested reverse transcription PCR. Overall, 2.9% (8/276) and 2.2% (6/276) of spleen samples tested positive to the viral L segments for TcTV-1 and SGLV, respectively; TAMV was not detected in any samples. The SGLV from the great gerbils shared 93.7% (236/252 nucleotide [nt]) and 94.0% (78/83 amino acid [aa]) identities to SGLV detected in patients infected with SGLV in northeastern China. The TcTV-1 in great gerbils was closest to TcTV-1 from a patient in China, with 98.5% (797/809 nt) and 98.9% (265/268 aa) sequence identities. This is the first molecular evidence for the presence of TcTV-1 and SGLV in great gerbils. High genetic diversity in SGLV was observed among geographical locations. Multiregion surveillance of Tamdy orthonairoviruses in more wildlife species is necessary.

In this study, 263 tapeworms were collected from eight road-killed red foxes in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR, northwestern China). The tapeworms were analyzed based on morphological characters and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 ( cox1 ) gene sequences. Eighty-three Taenia and 180 Mesocestoides tapeworms were identified according to the presence or absence of rostellum, and the number, the length and the shape of the large rostellar hooks. The morphological and molecular analyses revealed that i ) 180 Mesocestoides tapeworms, here named as Mesocestoides sp . ( Vulpes vulpes ), showed 99.21% (378/381 bp) identity to Mesocestoides sp . reported from red fox in Mongolia; and ii) 83 Taenia tapeworms belonged to three species. The first Taenia species [n = 16, named as Taenia sp . ( Vulpes vulpes )], based on the length of large rostellar hooks (337–342 μm) and its cox1 sequence, was identified as a potentially novel species, which is phylogenetically close to Taenia laticollis . The second species [n = 54, named as Taenia sp. ( Vulpes vulpes & Rhombomys opimus )], was morphologically similar to Taenia endothoracicus according to the number (n = 52), the length (319–332 μm) and the shape of the large rostellar hooks. This species, infecting three red foxes, shared 100% cox1 sequence identity with Taenia sp. ( Rhombomys opimus ) genotype C found previously in great gerbils ( Rhombomys opimus ) in the same region. The third species (n = 13, named as Taenia polyacantha -like), had shorter large rostellar hooks (178–180 μm) and showed 96.27% (361/375 bp) sequence identity to Taenia polyacantha reported from red fox in Italy. The “great gerbil-red fox” life cycle of Taenia sp. ( Vulpes vulpes & Rhombomys opimus ), belonging to the mitochondrial lineage of T . endothoracicus , is confirmed. The T. polyacantha -like species was firstly found in red fox in China. Taenia sp . ( Vulpes vulpes ) is a potentially novel species, which is close to T . laticollis based on its phylogenetic properties.