Molecular investigation of dogs' tick-borne infections in Karaman province of Türkiye

Tick-transmitted diseases in dogs are growing more significant in Türkiye and around the world. In areas with tropical and subtropical climates, Hepatozoon, Babesia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and hemotropic Mycoplasma species are among the pathogens that produce both clinical and subclinical illnesses. In this work, the prevalence of Hepatozoon spp., Babesia spp., Mycoplasma haemocanis, Candidatus Mycoplasma haematoparvum, Anaplasma platys, and Ehrlichia canis species in dogs in the southern part of Türkiye’s Central Anatolia Region was examined using molecular techniques. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequence analysis techniques were used to analyze the isolated DNAs in terms of the 16S rRNA gene of Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and hemotropic Mycoplasma species, as well as the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia and Hepatozoon species. Of the 140 extracted DNA samples, 32 (22.85%) Hepatozoon spp., 36 (25.71%) M. haemocanis, and 12 (8.57%) contained Ca. M. haematoparvum. Following 16 samples that tested positive for the Hepatozoan genus, it was found that all of them were Hepatozoon canis. Two of the samples were 100% comparable to the H. canis sequences found in GenBank, while the remaining samples were between 98.98% and 99.84% similar. Sequencing of two representative M. haemocanis and one Ca. M. haematoparvum sample revealed that the Ca. M. haematoparvum isolates were 99.19–99.60% similar to the Ca. M. haematoparvum isolates listed in GenBank, but the M. haemocanis samples were 100% identical to other M. haemocanis isolates. Dogs older than one year had considerably higher hemoplasma positivity, and both hemoplasma and Ca. M. haematoparvum positivity rose significantly with mean age (p