Abstract
Dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) are widely distributed in Africa, the Middle East and northern India. In this study, we aimed to detect tick-borne pathogens through investigating prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms in camel blood based on a metagenomic approach and then to characterize potentially pathogenic organisms using traditional molecular techniques. We showed that the bacteria circulating in the blood of camels is dominated by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. At the genus level, Sediminibacterium, Hydrotalea, Bradyrhizobium and Anaplasma were the most abundant taxa. Eukaryotic profile was dominated by Fungi, Charophyta and Apicomplexa. At the genus level, Theileria was detected in 10 out of 18 samples, while Sarcocystis, Hoplorhynchus and Stylocephalus were detected in one sample each. Our metagenomic approach was successful in the detection of several pathogens or potential pathogens including Anaplasma sp., Theileria ovis, Th. separata, Th. annulate, Th. mutans-like and uncharacterized Theileria sp. For further characterization, we provided the partial sequences of citrate synthase (gltA) and heat-shock protein (groEL) genes of Candidatus Anaplasma camelii. We also detected Trypanosoma evansi type A using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) region. This combined metagenomic and traditional approach will contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of pathogens including tick-borne bacteria and protozoa in animals.
Highlights
Camels are divided into three species, the Arabian or dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) [1,2].Arabian camels are commonly used for meat and milk production, transportation and racing [3]
We found that 29% (29/100) of the camels were positive by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting 16S rDNA of Anaplasmataceae (EHR-PCR)
This study implemented a metagenomic investigation targeting the blood circulating prokaryotes and eukaryotes in camels, which could be used in other species of mammals
Summary
Camels are divided into three species, the Arabian or dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and the wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) [1,2].Arabian camels are commonly used for meat and milk production, transportation and racing [3]. A PCR using non-metazoan universal primers (UNonMet-PCR), which was originally developed for the selective amplification of oyster protists [14], has been used to reduce the amplicons from metazoan 18S rDNA with high ability to amplify the V4 region of 18S rDNA from other eukaryotes within animal hosts [11]. This PCR can theoretically be used for many types of samples, it has not yet been applied for the detection of eukaryotes within the mammalian blood
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