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- Title
First report of <italic>Anaplasma ovis</italic> in pupal and adult <italic>Melophagus ovinus</italic> (sheep ked) collected in South Xinjiang, China.
- Authors
Zhao, Li; He, Bo; Li, Kai-Rui; Li, Fei; Zhang, Lu-Yao; Li, Xian-Qiang; Liu, Yong-Hong
- Abstract
Background: <italic>Melophagus ovinus</italic> (sheep ked) is a blood-feeding ectoparasite that belongs to the family Hippoboscidae (Diptera: Hippoboscoidea) and mainly parasitizes sheep. The life-cycle of <italic>M. ovinus</italic> consists of three stages: larva, pupa and adult. It has a worldwide distribution and has been found in four provinces of China, especially South Xinjiang. In addition to causing direct damage to animal hosts, <italic>M. ovinus</italic> serves as a vector for disease transmission. In this study, our aim was to investigate the presence of <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp. in pupal and adult <italic>M. ovinus</italic>. Methods: A total of 93 specimens (including eight pupal specimens) of <italic>M. ovinus</italic> collected in South Xinjiang were selected for isolation of genomic DNA, followed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the <italic>msp4</italic> gene of <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp. The sequences were analyzed in MEGA 7.0 software and <italic>via</italic> online BLAST. Results: PCR and sequencing results showed that all the specimens collected in 2013 were free of <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp., whereas three and 25 specimens (including five pupal specimens) collected in 2016 and 2017, respectively, tested positive for <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp. The analysis of 24 <italic>msp4</italic> gene sequences (from four pupal specimens) confirmed the presence of <italic>A. ovis</italic> in <italic>M. ovinus</italic> specimens collected in South Xinjiang, China. The detected <italic>A. ovis</italic> isolates belong to Genotypes II and III. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the detection of <italic>A. ovis</italic> DNA in pupal <italic>M. ovinus</italic>, confirming the vertical transmission of <italic>A. ovis</italic> in <italic>M. ovinus</italic> and the potential of <italic>M. ovinus</italic> to serve as a vector for <italic>A. ovis</italic>.
- Subjects
ANAPLASMA; SHEEP-tick; ECTOPARASITES; INFECTIOUS disease transmission; POLYMERASE chain reaction; NUCLEOTIDE sequence
- Publication
Parasites & Vectors, 2018, Vol 11, Issue 1, pN.PAG
- ISSN
1756-3305
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s13071-018-2788-6