Abstract
We collected 36 blood samples from free-living sika deer (Cervus nippon) that were captured in a deer-overcrowded area in Fukui prefecture, and examined the prevalence of tick-borne microbes, including hemoplasmas, Piroplasma, and Anaplasma. Of the 36 samples of deer, 35 (97.2%) were infected with at least one hemotropic microbes. Thirteen (36.1%) deer samples were positive for ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma erythrocervae’ and 13 (36.1%) deer were positive for ‘Ca. M. haemocervae’. Similarly, 25 (69.4%) deer samples were positive for Theileria sp. Thrivae. One (2.8%) was positive for Theileria sp. Sola, five (13.9%) were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, eight (22.2%) were positive for A. bovis, and 28 (77.8%) were positive for Anaplasma sp. This showed a high prevalence of tick-borne blood microorganisms in the deer population. Phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA gene showed that the Theileria sp. Thrivae that was detected in this study formed a monophyletic cluster with other Theileria species that previously were detected in sika deer. This suggests that a novel Theileria species is prevalent in sika deer. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA gene showed that Anaplasma sp. in this study formed monophyletic groups with other Anaplasma species that were previously detected in Japanese cattle and wild ruminants. This suggests that a novel Anaplasma species is prevalent in sika deer.
