Animal Husbandry and Feed Science ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (6): 107-114.doi: 10.12160/j.issn.1672-5190.2025.06.015

• Animal Disease Prevention and Control • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Identification of Tick Species Parasitizing Sheep and Investigation of Anaplasma Carriage in Parts of Southern Xinjiang

ZHANG Xing1, DAI Yiqi1, CHENG Shangpeng2, Nueraizizi Nuermaimaiti3, HE Wei4, LI Fei5, HE Bo6, WU Junyuan1   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China;
    2. College of Medicine, Tarim University, Alaer 843300, China;
    3. Kashgar Customs Technology Center, Kashgar 844199, China;
    4. Aksu Customs of the People's Republic of China, Aksu 843000, China;
    5. Aksu Animal Disease Control and Diagnostic Center, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aksu 843000, China;
    6. Animal Disease Prevention and Control Center of Yizhou District, Hami 839099, China
  • Received:2025-10-17 Online:2025-11-30 Published:2026-01-26

Abstract: [Objective] To investigate tick species parasitizing sheep and the infection status of Anaplasma carried by ticks in parts of southern Xinjiang. [Methods] A total of 145 ticks were collected from sheep in Pishan, Minfeng, Hetian, Kalpin, Lop, and Awati counties in Southern Xinjiang. Tick species in these sites were identified using morphological and molecular biological methods. Based on the 16S rRNA and MSP4 gene loci of Anaplasma, PCR method was employed to detect Anaplasma infection in ticks. Infected Anaplasma species were identified by sequence alignment, and phylogenetic trees were constructed using MEGA 11.0 software for genetic evolutionary analysis. [Results] A total of five tick species belonging to three genera were identified: Hyalomma asiaticumn=51), Hyalomma anatolicumn=4), Rhipicephalus turanicusn=75), Dermacentor pavlovskyin=14), and Dermacentor nuttallin=1). The overall Anaplasma-positive rate in ticks was 28.28% (41/145). Two Anaplasma species were detected, namely Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma ovis, with positive rates of 12.41% (18/145) and 15.86% (23/145), respectively; the co-infection rate with both Anaplasma species was 0.69% (1/145). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Anaplasma sequences obtained in this study had high homology with known Anaplasma sequences and did not form isolated genetic characteristics. [Conclusion] The dominant tick species in parts of southern Xinjiang are R. turanicus and H. asiaticum, and the Anaplasma carriage rate in ticks in this region is relatively high. These results provide data support for the prevention and treatment of tick-borne anaplasmosis in parts of southern Xinjiang.

Key words: sheep-parasitizing ticks, Anaplasma, identification, parts of southern Xinjiang

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