AUTHOR=Jiao Jun , Zhang Jianing , He Peisheng , OuYang Xuan , Yu Yonghui , Wen Bohai , Sun Yi , Yuan Qinghong , Xiong Xiaolu 

TITLE=Identification of Tick-Borne Pathogens and Genotyping of Coxiella burnetii in Rhipicephalus microplus in Yunnan Province, China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.736484

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.736484

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Rhipicephalus microplus</italic>, a vector that can transmit many pathogens to humans and domestic animals, is widely distributed in Yunnan province, China. However, few reports on the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in Yunnan are available. The aim of this study was to detect TBPs in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in Yunnan and to analyze the phylogenetic characterization of TBPs detected in these ticks. The adult <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> (<italic>n</italic> = 516) feeding on cattle were collected. The pooled DNA samples of these ticks were evaluated using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) and then TBPs in individual ticks were identified using genus- or group-specific nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with DNA sequencing assay. As a result, <italic>Candidatus Rickettsia jingxinensis</italic> (24.61%, 127/516), <italic>Anaplasma marginale</italic> (13.18%, 68/516), <italic>Coxiella burnetii</italic> (3.10%, 16/516), and <italic>Coxiella-</italic>like endosymbiont (CLE) (8.33%, 43/516) were detected. The dual coinfection with <italic>Ca. R. jingxinensis</italic> and <italic>A. marginale</italic> and the triple coinfection with <italic>Ca. R. jingxinensis</italic>, <italic>A. marginale</italic>, and CLE were most frequent and detected in 3.68% (19/516) and 3.10% (16/516) of these ticks, respectively. The results provide insight into the diversity of TBPs and their coinfections in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in Yunnan province of China, reporting for the first time that <italic>C. burnetii</italic> had been found in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in China. Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis with 6 loci (MLVA-6) discriminated the <italic>C. burnetii</italic> detected in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in Yunnan into MLVA genotype 1, which is closely related to previously described genotypes found primarily in tick and human samples from different regions of the globe, indicating a potential public health threat posed by <italic>C. burnetii</italic> in <italic>Rh. microplus</italic> in Yunnan.</p>