title: Molecular detection and genetic characterization of Babesia, Theileria and Anaplasma amongst apparently healthy sheep and goats in the central region of Turkey.
abstract: Babesia spp., Theileria spp. and Anaplasma spp. are significant tick-borne pathogens of livestock globally. In this study, we investigated the presence and distribution of Babesia ovis, Theileria ovis and Anaplasma ovis in 343 small ruminants (249 sheep and 94 goats) from 13 towns in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey using species-specific PCR assays. The PCR were conducted using the primers based on the B. ovis ssu rRNA (BoSSUrRNA), T. ovis ssu rRNA (ToSSUrRNA) and A. ovis major surface protein 4 (AoMSP4) genes, respectively. Fragments of these genes were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. PCR results revealed that the overall infections of A. ovis, T. ovis and B. ovis were 60.0%, 35.9% and 5.2%, respectively. Co-infection of the animals with two or three pathogens was detected in 105/343 (30.6%) of the ovine samples. The results of sequence analysis indicated that AoMSP4 were conserved among the Turkish samples, with 100% sequence identity values. In contrast, the BoSSUrRNA and ToSSUrRNA gene sequences were relatively diverse with identity values of 98.54%-99.82% and 99.23%-99.81%, respectively. Phylograms were inferred based on the BoSSUrRNA, ToSSUrRNA and AoMSP4 sequences obtained in this study and those from previous studies. B. ovis isolates from Turkey were found in the same clade as the isolates from other countries in phylogenetic analysis. On the other hand, the Turkish T. ovis isolates in the present study formed a monophyletic grouping with the isolates from other countries in a phylogeny based on ToSSUrRNA sequences. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using AoMSP4 sequences showed the presence of three genotypes of A. ovis. This study provides important data for understanding the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in small ruminants and the degree of genetic heterogeneities among these pathogens in Turkey. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the co-infection of Babesia, Theileria and Anaplasma in sheep and goats in Turkey.
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haping Street 678, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, PR China.
authors.forename: Mo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan; Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Haping Street 678, Xiangfang District, Harbin 150069, PR China.
authors.forename: Shinuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ferda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sevinc
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mutlu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sevinc
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Onur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ceylan
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Control Institute, Konya,Turkey.
authors.forename: Sepil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ekici
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Charoonluk
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jirapattharasate
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Paul Franck Adjou
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Moumouni
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Mingming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Guanbo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Aiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iguchi
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vudriko
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan. Electronic address: gen@obihiro.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Xuenan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xuan
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000235:genetics*; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000235:genetics*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D006041:Goats; D010802:Phylogeny; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D016794:Theileria / Q000235:genetics*; D013801:Theileriasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: Goat; Sheep; Species-specific PCR; Tick-borne pathogen; Turkey