title: Molecular survey and characterization of a novel Anaplasma species closely related to Anaplasma capra in ticks, northwestern China.
abstract: Anaplasma spp. are tick-transmitted bacteria that infect a wide variety of wild and domestic animals. These pathogens exhibit a high degree of biological diversity, broad geographical distribution, and represent a serious threat to veterinary and public health worldwide.
  
  
  
  A novel Anaplasma species was identified in Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis (Ixodidae) in northwestern China and was molecularly characterized by comparison of 16S rRNA, gltA, and groEL gene sequences. Of the 414 samples tested, 24 (5.8%) were positive for this Anaplasma species. On the basis of the 16S rRNA gene, this organism has been found to be closely related to and exhibit the highest sequence similarity with A. capra (99.8-99.9%) that was identified in goats and humans in northern China, but was distinct from other known Anaplasma species. Sequence analysis of the gltA and groEL genes revealed that this Anaplasma species was distinct from A. capra considering the lower sequence identity (88.6-88.7% for gltA and 90.6-91.0% for groEL) and a divergent phylogenetic position. Therefore, we described this Anaplasma species as A. capra-like bacteria.
  
  
  
  The present study reports a potential novel Anaplasma species closely related to A. capra in H. qinghaiensis in northwestern China. The zoonotic potential of A. capra-like bacteria needs to be further determined.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jifei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhijie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guangyuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: China Agricultural Veterinary Biological Sciences and Technology Co., Ltd, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yaoxu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China. luojianxun@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Jianxun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xujiaping 1, Lanzhou, Gansu, 730046, People's Republic of China. yinhong@caas.cn.|Jiangsu Co-innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou, 225009, People's Republic of China. yinhong@caas.cn.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: 16S rRNA gene; A. capra-like bacteria; Anaplasma; China; Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis; gltA gene; groEL gene