AUTHOR=Yang Jifei , Wang Xiaojun , Wang Jinming , Liu Zhijie , Niu Qingli , Mukhtar Muhammad Uzair , Guan Guiquan , Yin Hong 

TITLE=Molecular Survey of Tick-Borne Pathogens Reveals Diversity and Novel Organisms With Veterinary and Public Health Significance in Wildlife From a National Nature Reserve of China

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.682963

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2021.682963

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>Wildlife is involved in the maintenance and transmission of various tick-borne pathogens. The objective of the present study was to determine the occurrence and diversity of tick-borne pathogens in free-ranging wild animals collected from Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve of China. Blood or liver samples from 13 wild animals (5 takin, 3 Himalayan goral, 3 Reeves' muntjac, 1 forest musk deer, and 1 wild boar) were collected and screened for piroplasm, <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp., <italic>Ehrlichia</italic> spp., and spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae by PCR-based on different gene loci. Three <italic>Theileria</italic> species, a potential novel <italic>Theileria</italic> parasite (<italic>Theileria</italic> sp. T4) and two <italic>Anaplasma</italic> species were identified in those wildlife. <italic>Theileria capreoli</italic> was found in Himalayan goral, Reeves' muntjac, and forest musk deer; <italic>Theileria luwenshuni, Theileria uilenbergi</italic>, and a potential novel, <italic>Theileria</italic> parasite (<italic>Theileria</italic> sp. T4), were identified in takin. Meanwhile, <italic>Anaplasma bovis</italic> was identified in Himalayan goral, takin, Reeves' muntjac, forest musk deer, and wild boar; <italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</italic> and related strains was found in takin, Reeves' muntjac, and forest musk deer. All wildlife included in this study was negative for <italic>Babesia, Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma marginale, Ehrlichia</italic>, and SFG rickettsiae. Moreover, coinfection involving <italic>Theileria</italic> spp. and <italic>Anaplasma</italic> spp. was observed in eight wild animals. This study provided the first evidence of tick-borne pathogens in free-ranging wild animals from the nature reserve, where contact between domestic and wild animals rarely occurs.</p>