Unravelling the diversity of Anaplasma species circulating in selected African wildlife hosts by targeted 16S microbiome analysis

S Marcus Makgabo; Kelly A Brayton; Marinda C Oosthuizen; Nicola E Collins

doi:10.1016/j.crmicr.2023.100198

Unravelling the diversity of Anaplasma species circulating in selected African wildlife hosts by targeted 16S microbiome analysis

Curr Res Microb Sci. 2023 Aug 6:5:100198. doi: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2023.100198. eCollection 2023.

Authors

S Marcus Makgabo^{1

2}, Kelly A Brayton^{1

3}, Marinda C Oosthuizen^{1

4}, Nicola E Collins^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
² Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), Florida Campus, Roodepoort, 1709, South Africa.
³ Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
⁴ Centre for Veterinary Wildlife Research, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.

Abstract

Organisms in the genus Anaplasma are obligate intracellular alphaproteobacteria. Bovine anaplasmosis, predominantly caused by Anaplasma marginale, is the most prevalent tick-borne disease (TBD) of cattle worldwide. Other Anaplasma species are known to cause disease; these include A. ovis, A. platys in dogs, A. capra in goats and humans, and A. phagocytophilum in humans. The rapid advancement of next-generation sequencing technologies has led to the discovery of many novel sequences ascribed to the genus Anaplasma, with over 20 putative new species being proposed since the last formal organization of the genus. Most 16S rRNA gene surveys for Anaplasma were conducted on cattle and to a lesser extent on rodents, dogs, and ticks. Little is known about the occurrence, diversity, or impact of Anaplasma species circulating in wildlife species. Therefore, we conducted a 16S rRNA gene survey with the goal of identifying Anaplasma species in a variety of wildlife species in the Kruger National Park and neighbouring game reserves, using an unbiased 16S rRNA gene microbiome approach. An Anaplasma/Ehrlichia-group specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay revealed the presence of Anaplasma and/or Ehrlichia species in 70.0% (21/30) of African buffalo, 86.7% (26/30) of impala, 36.7% (11/30) of greater kudu, 3.2% (1/31) of African wild dog, 40.6% (13/32) of Burchell's zebra, 43.3% (13/30) of warthog, 22.6% (7/31) of spotted hyena, 40.0% (12/30) of leopard, 17.6% (6/34) of lion, 16.7% (5/30) of African elephant and 8.6% (3/35) of white rhinoceros samples. Microbiome sequencing data from the qPCR positive samples revealed four 16S rRNA sequences identical to previously published Anaplasma sequences, as well as nine novel Anaplasma 16S genotypes. Our results reveal a greater diversity of putative Anaplasma species circulating in wildlife than currently classified within the genus. Our findings highlight a potential expansion of the Anaplasma host range and the need for more genetic information from other important genes or genome sequencing of putative novel species for correct classification and further assessment of their occurrence in wildlife, livestock and companion animals.

Keywords: Anaplasma; Diversity; Kruger national park; Microbiome; Next-generation sequencing; South Africa; Wildlife hosts.