Fig 1.
Distribution of tick samples collected in Ningxia, China.
Different colour and size of circles represent the species and number of ticks collected from Ningxia, China. The map was constructed using ArcGIS v10.8.2 software. The basemap shapefiles were downloaded from the Chinese Resource and Environmental Science Data Platform (http://www.resdc.cn/, DOI:10.12078/2023010102).
Fig 2.
Phylogenetic trees of Rickettsia spp. based on the sequences of 3 different genes.
The trees were constructed based on the nucleotide sequences of (a) rrs (760 bp), (b) gltA (381 bp) and (c) ompA (532 bp) using the maximum-likelihood method with the best substitution model found. All bootstrap support values from 1,000 replicates are shown at the interior branch nodes. The sequences obtained in this study are marked by orange circles.
Fig 3.
Phylogenetic tree of study samples with validated Rickettsia species.
The partial nucleotide sequences of genes rrs (760 bp), ompA (532 bp), and gltA (381 bp) were concatenated and constructed via the maximum-likelihood method by using the best substitution model found. A bootstrap analysis of 1,000 replicates was applied to assess the reliability of the reconstructed phylogenies. Study sample Rickettsia sp. Av11 and Rickettsia sp. DH11 branched distinctly from other rickettsiae and were considered novel SFGR genotypes. The various coloured lines represent distinct pathogens. Circles indicate host sources; solid circles denote samples from this study, while the rest represent reference sequences.
Fig 4.
A comparative phylogenetic tree of SFGRs.
Phylogenetic analysis based on nucleotide sequences of two protein-encoding genes (on the left: ompA, on the left: gltA). The numbers at the nodes are bootstrap proportions with 1000 replicates. The scale bar indicates the number of nucleotide substitutions per site.
Fig 5.
Phylogenetic tree of study samples with validated Anaplasma species.
The tree was based on concatenated rrs (660 bp), gltA (793 bp), and groEL (1100 bp) nucleotide sequences. The tree was constructed by the maximum-likelihood method and we performed bootstrap analysis of 1,000 replicates to assess the reliability of the constructed phylogenies. The numbers at the nodes are bootstrap proportions with 1000 replicates. The scale bar indicates the number of nucleotide substitutions per site. The sequences obtained in this study are marked by blue circles.
Table 1.
Prevalence of rickettsiae in ticks from Ningxia, China*.
Table 2.
Prevalence of Anaplasma ovis in ticks from Ningxia, China.
Table 3.
The number of positive co-infections in ticks from Ningxia.
Fig 6.
Each tick samples infected with Rickettsia species.
The upper semicircle is the tick species, the lower semicircle is the Rickettsia species, and the color of the inner lines represent the tick species. The width of each chord corresponds to the count of Rickettsia-positive individuals in respective tick species.