AUTHOR=Zhang Yan , Cui Yanyan , Sun Yanting , Jing Huiyuan , Ning Changshen 

TITLE=Novel Anaplasma Variants in Small Ruminants From Central China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.580007

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2020.580007

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Anaplasma capra</italic> is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that pose a risk to the health of human and veterinary animal. Numerous variants in a variety of domestic and wild animals had been reported since its discovery and confirmation in humans in 2015 and its first detection from goat blood during 2012–2013. In order to find out more <italic>A. capra</italic> variants data of <italic>A. capra</italic> in central China, 16S rRNA, <italic>gltA, groEL</italic>, and <italic>msp4</italic> genes of this pathogen were amplified from sheep and goat samples collected during 2011–2015 and phylogenetic analysis of these sequences were conducted. The results of 16S rRNA and <italic>gltA</italic> manifested that partial sequences obtained in this study were 100% identical with <italic>A. capra</italic> isolates, while phylogenetic analysis results of <italic>groEL</italic> and <italic>msp4</italic> showed that the obtained sequences were independent with all other <italic>Anaplasmas</italic>, formed separate branches on the evolutionary trees. What needed to be emphasized was that the 16S rRNA and <italic>gltA</italic> gene sequences of X51 (KX505302 and KX450269), a sample from Shandong in 2011, were found to be 100% identical with <italic>A. capra</italic>. Therefore, we could speculate that the occurrence of <italic>A. capra</italic> may be earlier than its first discovery and report. And the <italic>A. capra</italic> isolates in central China were novel variants which were different from known genotypes.</p>