Anaplasma phagocytophilum-like Anaplasma spp. and pathogenic A. Phagocytophilum in cattle from South Korea]]>

摘要

Anaplasma phagocytophilumis the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis and tick-borne fever in domestic ruminants. Differential diagnosis of zoonotic and pathogenic tick-borne diseases like granulocytic anaplasmosis is important for the efficient implementation of control programs. Thus, the differentiation of pathogenicA. phagocytophilumfrom non-pathogenicA. phagocytophilum-like (APL)Anaplasmaspp. is essential. Recent molecular analyses of APL revealed its distinct phylogenetic position fromA. phagocytophilum. This study was conducted to detectA. phagocytophilumand genetically related strains in 764 cattle in South Korea using PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism assays. APL clade A andA. phagocytophilumwere identified in 20 (2.6%) and 16 (2.1%) cattle, respectively, with 16 cattle (2.1%) displaying co-infection. The 16S rRNA sequences of APL clade A were similar (98.3–99.9%) to those clustered in the APL clade A from eastern Asia. TheA. phagocytophilum16S rRNA sequence shared 98.6–100% identity to those of theA. phagocytophilumgroup. We used PCR to amplify thegroELandmsp2genes from the 20 samples positive for the 16S rRNA gene and found that 16 were positive for thegroELsequences in the APL clade A, which showed identity (82.8–84.4%) to those clustered in the APL clade A from Japan. Amplification ofmsp2was unsuccessful. The co-infection results suggested sequence diversity inAnaplasmaspp. Till date, bothA. phagocytophilumand APL have been reported to be distributed separately in several animals throughout South Korea. This report is the first co-detection ofA. phagocytophilumand APL in Korean cattle using molecular methods. Further studies are needed to provide additional molecular background and trace the evolutionary tree ofAnaplasmaspecies in animals and ticks.