Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China
To date, the primary hemoplasmas that infect cats include Mycoplasma haemofelis, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’, and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis’. In addition, other hemoplasmas Mycoplasma species have also been identified in cats. In central China, no infections or potential vectors wit...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1522904/full |
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| author | Hongfei Shi Guoguang Li Dandan Li Hongyue Zhai Shidong Ji Yun Hu Long Wang Lunguang Yao |
| author_facet | Hongfei Shi Guoguang Li Dandan Li Hongyue Zhai Shidong Ji Yun Hu Long Wang Lunguang Yao |
| author_sort | Hongfei Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | To date, the primary hemoplasmas that infect cats include Mycoplasma haemofelis, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’, and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis’. In addition, other hemoplasmas Mycoplasma species have also been identified in cats. In central China, no infections or potential vectors with hemotropic mycoplasmas have been recorded in cats. To elucidate the prevalence of hemotropic mycoplasmas in both cats and parasitic ticks, this study investigated the occurrence of hemotropic mycoplasma infections in ticks and cats. A total of 78 blood samples were collected from both anemic and healthy cats, along with 284 ticks from the cats’ body surfaces and 356 ticks found in the surrounding environment. Following the morphological and molecular identification of ticks, all samples were screened for pathogens using PCR detection and sequence analysis. The results indicated the presence of 392 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 152 Rhipicephalus microplus, and 76 Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in cats and their surrounding environment. Molecular detection revealed the amplification of 156 ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’, 96 ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos’, 41 M. haemofelis, and 64 Rickettsia felis-positive amplicons from both cats and ticks. Notably, when comparing the infection rates of ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ in the environment group, no significant differences were observed in the infection rates among the three tick species from anemic or healthy cats (p > 0.05, α = 0.05). Furthermore, sequence analysis of ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ indicated two novel sequence types that were most closely related to an isolate from buffalo in China. In conclusion, in this study, in addition to ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’ and M. haemofelis, ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ was first detected in cats. ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’ appears to be associated with anemic syndrome in cats, while further research is needed to explore the relationship between ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ and clinical signs in felines. Additionally, these three hemotropic mycoplasmas were also found in three species of ticks, and transmission experiments are required to investigate the capacity of these ticks to transmit hemoplasmas Mycoplasma among animals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e8d85af354994022a6287929bb38dae4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-e8d85af354994022a6287929bb38dae42025-01-30T06:22:32ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692025-01-011210.3389/fvets.2025.15229041522904Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in ChinaHongfei Shi0Guoguang Li1Dandan Li2Hongyue Zhai3Shidong Ji4Yun Hu5Long Wang6Lunguang Yao7Henan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Province Engineering Technology Research Center of Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Nanyang Vocational College of Agriculture, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaHenan Provincial Engineering and Technology Center of Animal Disease Diagnosis and Integrated Control, Henan Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Insects Bio-reactor, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang, ChinaTo date, the primary hemoplasmas that infect cats include Mycoplasma haemofelis, ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’, and ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis’. In addition, other hemoplasmas Mycoplasma species have also been identified in cats. In central China, no infections or potential vectors with hemotropic mycoplasmas have been recorded in cats. To elucidate the prevalence of hemotropic mycoplasmas in both cats and parasitic ticks, this study investigated the occurrence of hemotropic mycoplasma infections in ticks and cats. A total of 78 blood samples were collected from both anemic and healthy cats, along with 284 ticks from the cats’ body surfaces and 356 ticks found in the surrounding environment. Following the morphological and molecular identification of ticks, all samples were screened for pathogens using PCR detection and sequence analysis. The results indicated the presence of 392 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 152 Rhipicephalus microplus, and 76 Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato in cats and their surrounding environment. Molecular detection revealed the amplification of 156 ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’, 96 ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos’, 41 M. haemofelis, and 64 Rickettsia felis-positive amplicons from both cats and ticks. Notably, when comparing the infection rates of ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ in the environment group, no significant differences were observed in the infection rates among the three tick species from anemic or healthy cats (p > 0.05, α = 0.05). Furthermore, sequence analysis of ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ indicated two novel sequence types that were most closely related to an isolate from buffalo in China. In conclusion, in this study, in addition to ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’ and M. haemofelis, ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ was first detected in cats. ‘Ca. M. haemominutum’ appears to be associated with anemic syndrome in cats, while further research is needed to explore the relationship between ‘Ca. M. haemobos’ and clinical signs in felines. Additionally, these three hemotropic mycoplasmas were also found in three species of ticks, and transmission experiments are required to investigate the capacity of these ticks to transmit hemoplasmas Mycoplasma among animals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1522904/fullcatHaemaphysalis longicornisRhipicephalus microplusCandidatus Mycoplasma haemobosRhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato |
| spellingShingle | Hongfei Shi Guoguang Li Dandan Li Hongyue Zhai Shidong Ji Yun Hu Long Wang Lunguang Yao Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China Frontiers in Veterinary Science cat Haemaphysalis longicornis Rhipicephalus microplus Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato |
| title | Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China |
| title_full | Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China |
| title_fullStr | Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China |
| title_short | Molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in China |
| title_sort | molecular investigation reveals three hemotropic mycoplasmas in cats and three tick species in china |
| topic | cat Haemaphysalis longicornis Rhipicephalus microplus Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1522904/full |
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