Molecular detection of Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma bovis, Anaplasma platys, Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii and Babesia canis vogeli in ticks from Israel

Abstract

: Ticks are vectors of important pathogens of human and animals. Therefore, their microbial carriage capacity is constantly being investigated. The aim of this study was to characterize the diversity of domestic animal pathogens in ticks collected from vegetation and the ground, from different parts of Israel. Non-engorged questing adult ticks were collected from 13 localities. A total of 1196 ticks in 131 pools-83 pools of Rhipicephalus turanicus and 48 of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (with two to ten ticks per pool)-were included in this study. In addition, 13 single free-roaming Hyalomma spp. ticks were collected. Screening by molecular techniques revealed the presence of Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, Anaplasma bovis and Babesia canis vogeli DNA in R. turanicus ticks. E. canis, A. bovis, B. canis vogeli and Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii DNA sequences were detected in R. sanguineus ticks. Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii DNA was also detected in Hyalomma spp. ticks. Neither Hepatozoon spp. nor Bartonella spp. DNA was detected in any of the ticks examined. This study describes the first detection of E. canis in the tick R. turanicus, which may serve as a vector of this canine pathogen; E. canis was the most common pathogen detected in the collected questing ticks. It also describes the first detection of A. bovis and Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii in Israel. To the best of the author's knowledge, this is the first report describing the detection of DNA of the latter two pathogens in R. sanguineus, and of A. bovis in R. turanicus.

Detection and phylogenetic characterization of Theileria spp. and Anaplasma marginale in Rhipicephalus bursa in Portugal

“…and Theileria spp. was conducted using the primer set Piro-A and Piro-B as described elsewhere (Harrus et al, 2011). To detect Coxiella burnetii DNA, a nested-touchdown PCR was done using the primer pairs Trans1/2 followed by Trans3/4 that amplify a 243 bp fragment of the repetitive insertion element IS1111 (Lorenz et al, 1998).…”

“…As positive controls, DNA extracted from reference strains was used: Anaplasma marginale Va-48 strain, Babesia bigemina Israel strain, C. burnetii Nine Mile strain (Vircell, Spain) and Theileria annulata (Uzbek strain). Amplifications were performed in a T100 thermal cycler (Biorad, Amadora, Portugal) according to references (Harrus et al, 2011;Inokuma et al, 2000;Lorenz et al, 1998). Positive amplicons were purified using the NZYGelpure kit (NZYtech, Lisbon, Portugal) and sent for Sanger sequencing at StabVida (Lisbon, Portugal).…”

Bacterial canine vector-borne zoonotic diseases in “One Health” concept

“…A. platys had been detected more often in R. sanguineus which was presumed to be the potential vector of it [42]. Recently, A. platys was found in R. turanicus and Dendrobates auratus, as well [19,43]. Regarding the geographic distribution of A. platys, molecular detection of A. platys in dogs was reported in countries in different continents including America [44,45], Europe [46], Asia [47], Oceania [48], and Africa [31].…”

“…CME has a worldwide distribution including Europe, America, Asia, and Africa [18]. E. canis was reported in Rhipicephalus turanicus, Dermacentor marginatus (nymphs) naturally and in Dermacentor variabilis experimentally as well [19,20].…”

Molecular Evidence forAnaplasma bovisInfection in Wild Reeves' Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi), Southwest China

“…Several tick species have been proven to be vectors of A. bovis (Donatien and Lestoquard 1936;Matson 1967;Rioche 1967). Recently, A. bovis DNA was detected from H. longicornis in Korea and Japan (Kim et al 2003;Kawahara et al 2006) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus in Israel (Harrus et al 2011). These tick vectors could allow the spread of infection from wild Reeves' muntjac to other wild and domestic animals.…”