Molecular Epidemiological Survey and Genetic Characterization ofAnaplasmaSpecies in Mongolian Livestock

Abstract

Anaplasma species are obligate intracellular rickettsial pathogens that cause great economic loss to the animal industry. Few studies on Anaplasma infections in Mongolian livestock have been conducted. This study examined the prevalence of Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Anaplasma bovis by polymerase chain reaction assay in 928 blood samples collected from native cattle and dairy cattle (Bos taurus), yaks (Bos grunniens), sheep (Ovis aries), and goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) in four provinces of Ulaanbaatar city in Mongolia. We genetically characterized positive samples through sequencing analysis based on the heat-shock protein groEL, major surface protein 4 (msp4), and 16S rRNA genes. Only A. ovis was detected in Mongolian livestock (cattle, yaks, sheep, and goats), with 413 animals (44.5%) positive for groEL and 308 animals (33.2%) positive for msp4 genes. In the phylogenetic tree, we separated A. ovis sequences into two distinct clusters based on the groEL gene. One cluster comprised sequences derived mainly from sheep and goats, which was similar to that in A. ovis isolates from other countries. The other divergent cluster comprised sequences derived from cattle and yaks and appeared to be newly branched from that in previously published single isolates in Mongolian cattle. In addition, the msp4 gene of A. ovis using same and different samples with groEL gene of the pathogen demonstrated that all sequences derived from all animal species, except for three sequences derived from cattle and yak, were clustered together, and were identical or similar to those in isolates from other countries. We used 16S rRNA gene sequences to investigate the genetically divergent A. ovis and identified high homology of 99.3-100%. However, the sequences derived from cattle did not match those derived from sheep and goats. The results of this study on the prevalence and molecular characterization of A. ovis in Mongolian livestock can facilitate the control of infectious diseases in livestock.

Detection and Phylogenetic Characterization of Anaplasma capra: An Emerging Pathogen in Sheep and Goats in China

“…A. phagocytophilum is now the most prevalent species of Anaplasma over broad areas where various tick species are vectors (Cao et al, 2000 ; Villar et al, 2015 ; Eisen, 2018 ). This species infects the neutrophils of cattle, sheep, goats, horses, dogs, hares, yaks, and 24 species of rodents (Kawahara et al, 2006 ; de la Fuente et al, 2016 ; Ochirkhuu et al, 2017 ; Rocchigiani et al, 2018 ). A. phagocytophilum has also been associated with HGA in China since 2008 (Wormser, 2016 ), and cases of HGA have been reported in Europe and North America (Thomas et al, 2009 ; Nichols Heitman et al, 2016 ).…”

Estimated seroprevalence of Anaplasma spp. and spotted fever group Rickettsia exposure among herders and livestock in Mongolia

“…Several epidemiological studies have documented spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia ,(Lewin et al, 2003; Papageorgiou et al, 2012; Speck et al, 2012) Borrelia burgdorferi, (Masuzawa et al, 2014; Papageorgiou et al, 2012; Scholz et al, 2013; Walder et al, 2006) Anaplasma spp .,(Haigh et al, 2008; Javkhlan et al, 2014; Masuzawa et al, 2014; Papageorgiou et al, 2012; Walder et al, 2006; Ybanez et al, 2013) and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV)(Frey et al, 2012; Muto et al, 2015) in Mongolia, but most were limited by their sample sizes and small geographic coverage. A recent molecular study of Anaplasma species detected in Mongolian cattle, yaks, goats, and sheep found 33.2% – 44.5% of livestock screened, tested positive, suggesting a high burden of disease in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar (Ochirkhuu et al, 2017). However, this study targeted A. marginale and A. ovis which do not infect humans.…”

Some aspects on tick species in Mongolia and their potential role in the transmission of equine piroplasms, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi L.

“…In the present study, only A. phagocytophilum could be detected by PCR and the role of these ticks as vectors for other Anaplasma spp. present in Mongolian livestock (Ochirkhuu et al 2017) could not be determined here.…”

“…and Borrelia spp. were detected in Mongolian ticks (Fomenko et al 2009;Scholz et al 2013;Masuzawa et al 2014;Iwabu-Itoh et al 2017;Javkhlan et al 2014), livestock (Papageorgiou et al 2012;Karnath et al 2016;Ochirkhuu et al 2017) and humans (Walder et al 2006;von Fricken et al 2018). Piroplasms were detected in ticks (Battsetseg et al 2001(Battsetseg et al , 2002Boldbaatar et al 2005;Tuvshintulga et al 2015Tuvshintulga et al , 2016Karnath et al 2016), livestock (Avarzed et al 1997;Ruegg et al 2007;Altangerel et al 2011Altangerel et al , 2012Sivakumar et al 2012;Munkhjargal et al 2013;Yoshinari et al 2013) and humans (Hong et al 2014) in Mongolia.…”