Molecular Detection of Tick-borne Pathogens in Ticks Collected from Hainan Island, China.

Abstract

Pathogens like bacteria and protozoa, which affect human and animal health worldwide, can be transmitted by vectors like ticks. To investigate the epidemiology and genetic diversity of bacteria and protozoans carried by ticks in Chengmai county of Hainan province, China, 285 adult hard ticks belonging to two species [ Rhipicephalus sanguineus ( sensu lato): 183, 64.21% and Rhipicephalus microplus: 102, 35.79%] from dogs, cattle, and goats were collected. Microbial families were identified in these ticks by amplifying the 18S rRNA, 16S rRNA ( rrs), citrate synthase ( gltA), and heat shock protein ( groEL) genes. Our data revealed the presence of four recognized species and two Candidatus spp. of Anaplasmataceae and Coxiellaceae. In sum, these data reveal an extensive diversity of Anaplasmataceae bacteria, Coxiellaceae bacteria, Babesiidae, and Hepatozoidae in ticks from Hainan Island, highlighting the need to understand the tick-borne pathogen infection in local animals and humans.