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. 2025 Jan 1;87(1):43-51.
doi: 10.1292/jvms.24-0398. Epub 2024 Nov 18.

Diversity of piroplasma species in small rodents and ticks captured in suburbs of Gifu City, central Japan

Yuka Matsuda  1 , Misuzu Okajima  2   3 , Yuji Fujii  2 , Fumiki Izumi  2 , Maho R Takahashi  1 , Yuki Iwatake  1 , Kyoko Saito  4 , Yasuyo Terashi  4 , Junji Moribe  1   5 , Yasuhiro Takashima  1   2   6 , Naoto Ito  1   2   6 , Tatsunori Masatani  1   2   6
Affiliations

Diversity of piroplasma species in small rodents and ticks captured in suburbs of Gifu City, central Japan

Yuka Matsuda et al. J Vet Med Sci. .

Abstract

Piroplasmas (Babesia and Theileria) are protozoa transmitted from ticks to warm-blooded animals. Some species of them, such as Babesia microti, can cause zoonotic infections. Although B. microti infections in wild rodents and ticks in Japan have been frequently reported in Hokkaido, there are only older reports of zoonotic babesiosis in other areas of Japan. In this study, we investigated prevalence of piroplasma species in wild rodents and ticks collected in near Gifu City, a central region in Japan, between 2021 and 2023 using nested-PCR to detect the 18S rRNA gene sequences of various piroplasma species. Among 87 wild rodents, piroplasma gene sequences detected in four large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) were 100% identical to B. microti Otsu/Hobetsu type. Notably, the gene detected in one pool of nymphal Haemaphysalis ticks was closely related to Babesia motasi-like isolates recently detected in human patients in South Korea. Additionally, the deer Theileria species, which has been widely detected throughout Asia, including Japan, was detected from Haemapyhsalis ticks. Our results indicate that a variety of piroplasmas, including piroplasmas that are potentially pathogenic to humans, such as B. microti Otsu/Hobetsu types and protozoa closely related to B. motasi, are distributed in the Gifu City area.

Keywords: Babesia; Japan; Theileria; rodent; tick.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Map of sampling points. (A) Map of Japan. (B) Enlarged map of Gifu Prefecture. Triangles indicate two sampling points (Motosu and Ibigawa).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA genes (1,835 bp) of Piroplasmida sp. detected in this study (filled circle) along with reference sequences. This tree was constructed using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA X with the General Time Reversible incorporating a gamma distribution (+G) and invariant sites (+I) model. Branch lengths correlate to the number of substitutions inferred according to the scale bar. Bootstrap values are shown as percentages at nodes based on 1,000 replicates.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA genes (1,525 bp) of B. microti detected in this study (filled circle) along with reference sequences. This tree was constructed using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA X with the General Time Reversible + G + I model. Branch lengths correlate to the number of substitutions inferred according to the scale bar. Bootstrap values are shown as percentages at nodes based on 1,000 replicates.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Phylogenetic tree based on nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA genes (818 bp) of Babesia spp. (without B. microti) detected in this study along with reference sequences. B. motasi-like parasites, racoon Babesia sp. and B. occlutance-like parasites detected in our study are indicated by filled circle, triangle, and square respectively. This tree was constructed using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA X with the General Time Reversible + G + I model. Branch lengths correlate to the number of substitutions inferred according to the scale bar. Bootstrap values are shown as percentages at nodes based on 1,000 replicates.
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