Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Molecular detection and identification of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species in ixodid ticks

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Parasitology Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay followed by partial sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was performed for the presence of Ehrlichia and/or Anaplasma. A total of 242 ixodid ticks were collected from domestic ruminants and their shelters, as well as humans, and their individual salivary glands were dissected out for DNA. From the 242 ticks analyzed, six (2.47%), comprising three Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum, one Rhipicephalus bursa, and two Rhipicephalus sanguineus, were positive. Of these sequenced samples directly obtained from the PCR products, three sequences from H. a. anatolicum were identical to that of the gene of Ehrlichia spp. strains. One sequence identified in R. bursa was closely related to Anaplasma platys. The remaining two sequences detected in R. sanguineus were similar to that of the gene of Anaplasma ovis. The study presented here provides preliminary data regarding the presence of rickettsial pathogens in ticks in Turkey.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Aguirre E, Tesouro MA, Ruiz L, Amusategui I, Sainz A (2006) Genetic characterization of Anaplasma (Ehrlichia) platys in dogs in Spain. J Vet Med B 53:197–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aktas M, Altay K, Dumanli N (2006) PCR-based detection of Theileria ovis in Rhipicephalus bursa adult ticks. Vet Parasitol 140:259–262

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Altay K, Aktas M, Dumanli N (2008) Detection of Babesia ovis by PCR in Rhipicephalus bursa collected from naturally infested sheep and goats. Res Vet Sci 85:116–119

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bekker CP, Vink D, Lopes Pereira CM, Wapenaar W, Langa A, Jongejan F (2001) Heartwater (Cowdria ruminantium infection) as a cause of postrestocking mortality of goats in Mozambique. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 8:843–846

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bekker CPJ, de Vos S, Taoufik A, Sparagano OAE, Jongejan F (2002) Simultaneous detection of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species in ruminants and detection of Ehrlichia ruminantium in Amblyomma variegatum ticks by reverse line blot hybridization. Vet Microbiol 89:223–238

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christova I, Van De Pol J, Yazar S, Velo E, Schouls L (2003) Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species, and spotted fever group Rickettsiae in ticks from Southeastern Europe. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 22:535–542

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dumler JS (2005) Anaplasma and Ehrlichia infections. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1063:361–373

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dumler JS, Barbet AF, Bekker CPJ, Dasch GA, Palmer GH, Ray SC, Rikihisa Y, Rurangirwa FR (2001) Reorganization of genera in the families Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae in the order Rickettsiales: unification of some species of Ehrlichia with Anaplasma, Cowdria with Ehrlichia and Ehrlichia with Neorickettsia, descriptions of six new species combinations and designation of Ehrlichia equi and ‘HGE agent’ as subjective synonyms of Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 51:2145–2165

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Pena A, Jongejan F (1999) Ticks feeding on humans: a review of records on human-biting Ixodoidea with special reference to pathogen transmission. Exp Appl Acarol 23:685–715

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada-Peña A, Bouattour A, Camicas JL, Walker AR (2004) Ticks of domestic animals in the Mediterranean region. University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedhoff KT (1997) Tick-borne diseases of sheep and goats caused by Babesia, Theileria or Anaplasma spp. Parasitologia 39:99–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Güner ES, Watanabe M, Kadosaka T, Polat E, Gargili A, Gulanber A, Ohashi N, Kaneda K, Imai Y, Masuzawa T (2005) Seroepidemiology of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in wild mice captured in northern Turkey. Epidemiol Infect 133:331–336

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hornok S, Elek V, de la Fuente J, Naranjo V, Farkas R, Majoros G, Földvari G (2007) First serological and molecular evidence on the endemicity of Anaplasma ovis and A. marginale in Hungary. Vet Microbiol 122:316–322

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar S, Tamura K, Nei M (2004) MEGA3: Integrated software for molecular evolutionary genetics analysis and sequence alignment. Briefings Bioinform 5:150–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loftis AD, Reeves WK, Szumlas DE, Abbassy MM, Helmy IM, Moriarity JR, Dasch GA (2006) Rickettsial agents in Egyptian ticks collected from domestic animals. Exp App Acaro 40:67–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massung RF, Lee K, Mauel M, Gusa A (2002) Characterization of the rRNA genes of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Anaplasma phagocytophila DNA. Cell Biol 21:587–596

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parola P, Inokuma H, Camicas JL, Brouqui P, Raoult D (2001) Detection and identification of spotted fever group Rickettsiae and Ehrlichiae in African ticks. Emerg Infect Dis 7:1014–1017

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parola P, Cornet JP, Sanoga YO, Miller RS, Thien HV, Gonzales JP, Raoult D, Telford SR III, Wongsrichanalai C (2003) Detection of Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia spp., and other eubacteria in ticks from the Thai–Myanmar border and Vietnam. J Clin Microbiol 41:1600–1608

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanogo YO, Davoust B, Inokuma H, Camicas JL, Parola P, Brouqui P (2003) First evidence of Aanaplasma platys in Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodida) collected from dogs in Africa. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 70:205–212

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarih M, M’Ghirbi Y, Bouattour A, Gern L, Baranton G, Postic D (2005) Detection and identification of Ehrlichia spp. in ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco. J Clin Microbiol 43:1127–1132

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schouls LM, van de Pol I, Rijpkema SG, Schot CS (1999) Detection and identification of Ehrlichia, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Bartonella species in Dutch Ixodes ricinus ticks. J Clin Microbiol 37:2215–2222

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sparagano OA, de Vos AP, Paoletti B, Camma C, de Santis P, Otranto D, Giangaspero A (2003) Molecular detection of Anaplasma platys in dogs using polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot hybridisation. J Vet Diagn Invest 15:527–534

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stiller D, Crosbie PR, Boyce WM, Goff WL (1999) Dermacentor hunteri (Acari: Ixodidae): an experimental vector of Anaplasma marginale and A. ovis (Rickettsiales: Anaplasmataceae) to calves and sheep. J Med Entomol 36:321–324

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Unver A, Rikihisa Y, Borku K, Ozkanlar Y, Hanedan B (2005) Molecular detection and characterization of Ehrlichia canis from dogs in Turkey. Berl Munch Tierärztl Wochenschr 118:300–304

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wen B, Jian R, Zhang Y, Chen R (2002) Simultaneous detection of Anaplasma marginale and a new Ehrlichia species closely related to Ehrlichia chaffeensis by sequence analyses of 16S ribosomal DNA in Boophilus microplus ticks from Tibet. J Clin Microbiol 40:3286–3290

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported financially by a grant (106 O 416) from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey

    Munir Aktas, Kursat Altay & Nazir Dumanli

  2. Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey

    Ahmet Kalkan

Authors
  1. Munir Aktas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kursat Altay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nazir Dumanli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ahmet Kalkan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Munir Aktas.

Additional information

Nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper are available in GenBank, EMBL, and DDBJ databases under accession numbers EU191227–EU191231 and EU191233.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Aktas, M., Altay, K., Dumanli, N. et al. Molecular detection and identification of Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species in ixodid ticks. Parasitol Res 104, 1243–1248 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1377-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1377-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation