Abstract
Mycoplasma ovis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen with a worldwide distribution and can cause mild to severe hemolytic anemia, icterus, and poor weight gain in animals. Although M. ovis has been described in small ruminants worldwide, data on M. ovis in sheep in Brazil is unknown. The objective of the present study was to present the first report of hemotropic mycoplasma (HM) in sheep from Brazil. We evaluated factors associated with this infection, such age group, tick presence, and anemia. Blood samples were collected from 33 sheep from a farm in southern Brazil and screened for hemoplasmas using PCR. Out of 33 samples, 26 (78.8%) tested positive for M. ovis. The sequencing of positive samples showed 100% identity with multiple M. ovis 16S rDNA sequences. No association was observed between the presence of M. ovis and the FAMACHA© score (p = 0.620). Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (15/33, 45.4%) was the tick species found on the animals. No significant association between M. ovis infection and presence of ticks (p = 0.4134) and age group (p = 0.4221) was observed. This is the first report of M. ovis infection in sheep from Brazil and only the second report of this pathogen in sheep in Latin America.
Highlights
Hemotrophic mycoplasmas (HM; formerly classified as Eperythrozoon & Haemobartonella) are small pleomorphic, uncultivable bacteria, which attach themselves to the surface of erythrocytes
The description of hemotropic mycoplasma (HM) in small ruminants began with Mycoplasma ovis and “Candidatus Mycoplasma haemovis” (HORNOK et al, 2012)
Three isolates having 16S rRNA gene sequences were included in the phylogenetic tree (Figure 1)
Summary
Hemotrophic mycoplasmas (HM; formerly classified as Eperythrozoon & Haemobartonella) are small pleomorphic, uncultivable bacteria, which attach themselves to the surface of erythrocytes. They can cause hemolytic anemia in a wide variety of mammals. The description of HM in small ruminants began with Mycoplasma ovis (formerly Eperythrozoon ovis) and “Candidatus Mycoplasma haemovis” (HORNOK et al, 2012). At present, it is not clear whether these hemoplasmas are single species or separate. Mycoplasma ovis (formerly Eperythrozoon ovis) transmission by hematophagous ticks, such as Rhipicephalus bursa, has experimentally been demonstrated in Russia (NIKOL’SKIĬ & SLIPCHENKO, 1969). Since R. bursa has never been found in the New World, it is still unknown which vector participates in the transmission of M. ovis in our geographic location
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