摘要：

Corsica is a French island situated in the Mediterranean Sea. The island provides suitable natural conditions to study disease ecology, especially tick-borne diseases and emerging diseases in animals and ticks. The familyAnaplasmataceaeis a member of the orderRickettsiales; it includes the generaAnaplasma,Ehrlichia,NeorickettsiaandWolbachia. Anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis traditionally refer to diseases caused by obligate intracellular bacteria of the generaAnaplasmaandEhrlichia. The aim of this study was to identify and estimate the prevalence ofAnaplasmataceaespecies infecting domestic animals and ticks in Corsica. In this study, 458 blood samples from sheep, cattle, horses, goats, dogs, and 123 ticks removed from cattle, were collected in Corsica. Quantitative real-time PCR screening and genetic characterisation ofAnaplasmataceaebacteria were based on the 23S rRNA,rpoBandgroElgenes. Two tick species were collected in the present study:Rhipicephalus bursa(118) andHyalomma marginatum marginatum(5). Molecular investigation showed that 32.1% (147/458) of blood samples were positive forAnaplasmataceaeinfection.Anaplasma oviswas identified in 42.3% (93/220) of sheep.Anaplasma marginalewas amplified from 100% (12/12) of cattle and twoR. bursa(2/123). Several potentially new species were also identified:Anaplasmacf.ovis, "CandidatusAnaplasma corsicanum", "CandidatusAnaplasma mediterraneum" were amplified from 17.3% (38/220) of sheep, andAnaplasmasp. marginale-like was amplified from 80% (4/5) of goats. Finally, oneR. bursatick was found to harbour the DNA ofE. canis. All samples from horses and dogs were negative forAnaplasmataceaeinfection. To our knowledge, this study is the first epidemiological survey onAnaplasmataceaespecies infecting animals and ticks in Corsica and contributes toward the identification of currentAnaplasmataceaespecies circulating in Corsica.

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