''Anaplasma'' is a genus of
gram-negative
Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists ...
bacteria of the alphaproteobacterial order
Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae.
''Anaplasma'' species reside in host
blood cells and lead to the disease
anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease affecting ruminants, dogs, and horses, and is caused by ''Anaplasma'' bacteria. Anaplasmosis is an infectious but not contagious disease. Anaplasmosis can be transmitted through mechanical and biological vector ...
. The disease most commonly occurs in areas where competent tick vectors are indigenous, including tropical and semitropical areas of the world for intraerythrocytic ''Anaplasma'' spp.
[Anaplasmas](_blank)
reviewed and published by WikiVet, accessed 10 October 2011.
''Anaplasma'' species are biologically transmitted by Ixodes
deer-tick vectors, and the prototypical species, ''A. marginale,'' can be mechanically transmitted by biting flies and iatrogenically with blood-contaminated instruments.
One of the major consequences of infection of bovine red blood cells by ''A. marginale'' is the development of
nonhaemolytic anaemia, thus the absence of hemoglobinuria, which allows clinical differentiation from another major tick-borne disease, bovine
babesiosis, caused by ''Babesia bigemina''.
Species of veterinary interest include:
*''Anaplasma marginale'' and ''Anaplasma centrale'' in cattle
*''Anaplasma ovis'' and ''Anaplasma mesaeterum'' in sheep and goats
* ''
Anaplasma phagocytophilum
''Anaplasma phagocytophilum'' (formerly ''Ehrlichia phagocytophilum'') is a Gram-negative bacterium that is unusual in its tropism to neutrophils. It causes anaplasmosis in sheep and cattle, also known as tick-borne fever and pasture fever, an ...
'' in dogs, cats, and horses (see
human granulocytic anaplasmosis)
* ''
Anaplasma platys'' in dogs
The ''Anaplasma sparouinense'' species is responsible for a rare
zoonosis
A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus, bacterium, parasite, fungi, or prion) that can jump from a non-human vertebrate to a human. When ...
, the Sparouine anaplasmosis, detected only in French Guiana, South America.
This disease was described by a clandestine gold miner working deep in the rainforest. Infection of his red blood cells led to a severe deterioration of his health and required his hospitalization. Molecular typing showed that ''Anaplasma sparouinense'' is distinct to all known species and more genetically related to recently described ''Anaplasma'' species causing infections in rainforest wild fauna of Brazil.
Genomes
The genomes from at least three different ''Anaplasma'' species have been sequenced.
Anaplasma genomes in the JGI genome browser
/ref> These genomes are about 1.1 to 1.2 MB in size and encode 925 to 1,335 proteins.
References
External links
*
Anaplasma Genome Projects
(fro
Genomes OnLine Database
Comparative Analysis of Anaplasma Genomes
(at DOE's IMG system)
Rickettsiales
Bacteria genera
{{Alphaproteobacteria-stub