Multi-Locus Sequencing Reveals Putative Novel Anaplasmataceae Agents, ' Candidatus Ehrlichia dumleri' and Anaplasma sp., in Ring-Tailed Coatis (Carnivora: Nasua nasua ) from Urban Forested Fragments at Midwestern Brazil

The Anaplasmataceae family encompasses obligate intracellular α-proteobacteria of human and veterinary medicine importance. This study performed multi-locus sequencing to characterize and in coati's blood samples in Midwestern Brazil. Twenty-five samples (25/165-15.1%) were positive in the screening PCR based on the gene of spp. and were characterized using 16S rRNA, , , and genes and the 23S-5S intergenic space region (ITS). Phylogenetic analyses based on all six molecular markers positioned the sequences into a new clade, with a common origin of . Haplotype analyses of 16S RNA sequences revealed the presence of two distinct genotypes. Six samples (6/165, 3.6%) were positive in the screening nPCR for the 16S rRNA gene of spp. and were submitted to an additional PCR targeting the ITS for molecular characterization. Phylogenetic analyses based on both 16S rRNA gene and ITS positioned the sp. detected in the present study in a large clade with other sp. previously detected in ticks and wild animals and in a clade with ' Anaplasma brasiliensis', respectively. Based on distinct molecular markers, the present work described a putative novel Anaplasmataceae agent, namely ' Ehrlichia dumleri', and sp. closely related to the previously described ' Anaplasma brasiliensis'.