Differential identification of Anaplasma in cattle and potential of cattle to serve as reservoirs of Anaplasma capra, an emerging tick-borne zoonotic pathogen

Publication date: Available online 11 October 2018Source: Veterinary MicrobiologyAuthor(s): Min-Goo Seo, In-Ohk Ouh, Haeseung Lee, Paul John L. Geraldino, Man Hee Rhee, Oh-Deog Kwon, Dongmi KwakAbstractBovine anaplasmosis is a tick-borne, infectious, non-contagious disease caused by Anaplasma marginale, A. centrale, A. bovis, and zoonotic A. phagocytophilum. Recently, Anaplasma capra detected in goats was identified as a novel zoonotic pathogen. To determine whether A. capra can infect bovines, we used PCR to differentially diagnose Anaplasma spp. in 1,219 South Korean cattle by performing multilocus gene typing and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis detected the 16S rRNA gene of A. bovis and four genes from A. capra in 12 (1.0%) and five (0.4%) cattle, respectively. Supplementary discrimination between A. bovis and A. capra was accomplished by RFLP. The 16S rRNA, msp4, groEL, and gltA genes of A. capra identified in this study had much lower degrees of identity to those in A. centrale and other Anaplasma spp. A. phagocytophilum was not detected in any of the tested cattle. Although the prevalence was low, this study suggests the potential of cattle to serve as reservoirs of A. capra. Thus, further studies are needed to clarify the pathogenesis of A. capra in cattle and its possible involvement in transmission to humans.
Source: Veterinary Microbiology - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research