Cachexia is a complex wasting syndrome associated with a marked detrimental effect upon life quality and survival in patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic heart failure, AIDS, and chronic kidney disease, among other conditions. Its prevalence is of around 5 to 15% in cardiac patients at end stage, rising up to 30%, in COPD and chronic kidney disease patients, and to 80%, in patients with advanced cancer. Cachexia symptoms include pronounced weight loss, due to both lean and fat mass wasting: anorexia, malabsorption, nausea, asthenia, neuroendocrine changes, immune system function impairment, and disruption of energy metabolism. Despite its unquestionable relevance to the poorer outcome of treatment in disease and its high prevalence among patients, the syndrome is still underdiagnosed and seldom treated. Part of the difficulty in treating cachexia relies on the fact that, in the clinical setting, the syndrome is recognised solely in its most advanced stages, when therapy available to the present day is not able to fully reverse its symptoms. Therefore, scientists and clinicians should focus on identifying early changes, as to intervene in a precocious manner.The aetiology of cachexia has not been fully unveiled, yet it appears that chronic systemic inflammation is present in the vast majority of patients. The aim of the present special issue is to address the importance of systemic inflammation in cachexia, in regard to its consequences and to its possible role in providing early markers for the diagnosis of the syndrome.Cancer cachexia-related neuroinflammation is discussed by A. Molfino et al., as the authors propose a conceptual framework in which the hypothalamus transduces the peripheral challenge represented by the presence of the tumour into catabolic signals, as a result of central inflammation. A contribution by N. Inácio Pinto et al. examines the role of inflammatory signalling factors involved in the communication among the peripheral tissue, tumour microenvironment, and the central nervous system. Another view of such interactions is provided by J. M. Argiles et al., who bring similar emphasis on the conversation among different body compartments and organs in cancer cachexia. The authors comment on the significance of tissues other than the skeletal muscle in the mechanisms underlying the syndrome, proposing that the latter suffers wasting as a consequence of systemic inflammatory changes. Adding information on the role of inflammatory factors on muscle wasting, D. Costamagna et al. discuss the molecular mechanisms involved in muscle homeostasis disruption and mass loss.The quest for markers of the initiation of cachexia is also debated: M. Ebadi and V. C. Mazurak propose the adoption of adipose tissue-derived factors as indicators of early inflammatory alterations that induce fat mass wasting in the syndrome. R. Camargo et al. review the potential of microRNAs in the regulation of cancer-cachexia systemic inflammation and put forward the possibility that these molecules may serve as diagnostic tools. Finally, the article by D. Watt et al. presents the convenience and adequacy of employing prognostic scores that include systemic inflammation assessment as a valuable means for cachexia diagnosis.Taken together, the issue provides insights on the importance of detecting early signs of inflammatory changes in patients and examines the mechanisms that act in concert, inducing cachexia symptoms.M. SeelaenderM. SeelaenderA. LavianoA. LavianoS. BusquetsS. BusquetsG. P. PüschelG. P. PüschelT. MargariaT. MargariaM. L. Batista Jr.M. L. Batista Jr.


In the Funding section, one of the funders is listed incorrectly. The complete, correct funding information is as follows:http://www.fapemig.br/ and http://www.portal.ib.ufu.br/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.The publication cost was fully funded by FAPEMIG and the Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation of Natural Resources, Federal University of Uberlândia. The links are:


Ilex, the largest genus of dioecious woody plants, is a good study system to assess the role of hybridization in speciation and evolution. Ilex dabieshanensis, a tree endemic to Dabieshan Mountains region, was initially described as a new species. Based on morphological intermediacy and sympatric distribution with its putative parental species, I. cornuta and I. latifolia, we proposed it as a natural hybrid between them. In this study, we sequenced one chloroplast intergenic spacer (trnH-psbA) and two nuclear genes (gapC and nepGS) in I. dabieshanensis and its putative parental species to test the hybrid origin hypothesis. Our results showed that there were one to two differentially fixed sequence differences between I. cornuta and I. latifolia at the two nuclear genes. Twelve of the 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis exhibited additivity in chromatograms on these differentially fixed sites at both nuclear genes, and the remaining two exhibited additivity in chromatograms on the fixed site at only the nepGS gene. Except one haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene, all of the haplotypes of I. cornuta at the two nuclear genes were well separated from those of I. latifolia, and most haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia. Phylogenetic analysis of these haplotypes was largely consistent with haplotype network analysis. I. cornuta and I. latifolia differed by two nucleotide substitutions in the chloroplast intergenic spacer, and 12 individuals of I. dabieshanensis had the same sequences as I. latifolia, while the remaining two were identical with I. cornuta. The molecular data provide convincing evidence for the hybrid origin of I. dabieshanensis and asymmetrical direction of hybridization. One haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene was nested with those of I. latifolia, indicating introgression to I. cornuta. When closely related species, especially those within a genus, come into contact, hybridization is a common consequence in many plant groups ,2. If hyIlex L. (Hollies) is the sole genus of Aquifoliaceae [Ilex are East Asia and South America [Ilex species are extremely important food for numerous species of birds, and some wild animals [Ilex species play important roles in the local ecosystems. There are many naturally occurring or cultivated interspecific hybrids in this genus [Ilex, as also suggested by substantial incongruence between the nuclear phylogeny and the plastid phylogeny of this genus [oliaceae , consistoliaceae –8. It isoliaceae ,9. The m America –12. Seed animals ,14, and is genus , 15–19. is genus –12,20.Ilex, which are mostly distributed in Southwest and South China, with the southern slopes of Qingling Mountains being the northern range margin of this genus [I. dabieshanensis K. Yao et M. P. Deng [I. dabieshanensis was initially described as a new species and is distributed only in the Dabieshan Mountains region [Many species in this genus have very limited geographic distributions and to date 97 species of this genus have been listed in the ICUN red list of endangered species . In Chinis genus . Among t P. Deng . I. dabis region ,22, a mas region .I. dabieshanensis, there are three other species of Ilex in the Dabieshan Mountains region, namely, I. latifolia Thunb., I. cornuta Lindl. et Paxt. and I. chinensis Sims. I. latifolia is distributed in Central and South China and Japan, with an elevation of 250–1500 m. I. chinensis has a very similar geographic distribution with I. latifolia, but with a broader range in elevation (from sea level to 2000 m). I. cornuta is native to North, Central and East China and Korea with an elevation of 100–1900 m, and is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in Europe and North America. While I. chinensis has papery leaves, crenate leaf margins and purple-red flowers, all other three species have thickly leathery leaves, serrated or spiny leaf margins and yellow-green flowers. Compared with the three other species, I. dabieshanensis is quite rare. It has many morphological characters intermediate between I. latifolia and I. cornuta. For example, I. comuta has the spiny leaf margins with one to two spines per side and one strong reflexed spine in the apex, and I. latifolia has serrated leaf margins, with over 20 pairs of teeth, while I. dabieshanensis has slightly revolute and serrated leaf margins, with four to eight pairs of spines. Based on its rare occurrence in the overlapping areas and morphological intermediacy between I. cornuta and I. latifolia, we propose that I. dabieshanensis might be an interspecific hybrid between them.In addition to Ilex species in the Dabieshan Mountains region to test the hypothesis that I. dabieshanensis is a hybrid of I. cornuta and I. latifolia. Because introgression is a common consequence of hybridization and can contribute to transfer of adaptive traits between species [Verifying the hybrid origins of taxa in question is valuable for studies on taxonomy, evolution and conservation. In the present study, we determined the sequences of one chloroplast intergenic spacer and two low-copy nuclear genes in the four sympatric  species –25, we aI. cornuta, 17 indi viduals of I. latifolia and 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis. We used different number of individuals for the three taxa because we could find only these individuals during our field work. We also sampled eight individuals of I. chinensis, which were used as outgroups. Leaves from each individual of these species were collected and dried in plastic bags with silica gel for subsequent DNA extraction.Our sampling site was located in Manshuihe, Huoshan, Anhui, China. At this location, no specific permissions were required for scientific research and no endangered or protected species were involved at this study. These four species were identified according to the diagnostic morphological traits described in the Flora of China ,8. Fig 1nepGS and gapC), which encode the nuclear encoded plastid glutamine synthetase (nepGS) and the cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPC), respectively. We obtained the primer sequences of nepGS from Emshwiller and Doyle [gapC, we first used its universal primers of angiosperms [Ilex species. The primer sequences were IgapC-F: 5' TTTGTATTGATATTGCTCCATTTTG 3' and IgapC-R: 5' TGAAATATCCATTCTCACCTGTTG 3'. We amplified the chloroplast trnH-psbA regions using the universal primers trnH and psbA [I. dabieshanensis and some individuals of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, direct sequencing produced the superimposed chromatograms on multiple sites and unreadable peaks were observed after intra-individual length polymorphisms at the two nuclear genes, so we used cloning sequencing to phase the haplotypes. We conducted ligation reactions with a pMD18-T&A cloning kit  and selected eight positive colonies for each individual for sequencing. We deposited all of the sequences in GenBank with accession numbers KP867812-KP867869 and KP903384-KP903390.We extracted genomic DNA of these samples from dried leaf tissues using the CTAB method . In thisnd Doyle . As for iosperms  for ampland psbA . We puriwww.fluxus-engineering.com) with the median-joining method [I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and for the three taxa together, respectively, using DNASP5.0 [We edited all of the sequences from the four species by using SeqMan  and aligned them in Clustal X . At the g method  to resolDNASP5.0 .I. chinensis was highly divergent with the three other species at the two nuclear genes and the chloroplast intergenic spacer, we used it as an outgroup to root the phylogenetic trees. For ML analysis, we selected an appropriate nucleotide substitution model for each gene based on the result of Modeltest 3.7 [For each nuclear gene, we also reconstructed the phylogeny of these haplotypes using maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods, as implemented in PAUP4.0b . We carrtest 3.7 . SimilartrnH-psbA regions from the four species of Ilex were 495 bp in length. No within-species variation was found in this region for each of I. cornuta, I. latifolia and I. chinenesis. I. chinensis differed from I. cornuta and I. latifolia by seven nucleotide substitutions and three insertion/deletions   . There watifolia . Of the  cornuta .gapC gene in the four Ilex species was 730 bp. There were 26 fixed nucleotide substitutions between I. chinenesis and the three other species. Although both I. cornuta and I. latifolia had relatively high levels of within-species polymorphism (see below), there were only one fixed nucleotide substitution (the 539th site: T for I. cornuta and G for I. latifolia) and one fixed 1-bp insertion/deletion (the 605th site:—for I. cornuta and T for I. latifolia) between I. cornuta and I. latifolia. For I. dabieshanensis, 12 of the 14 individuals exhibited chromatogram additivity on these two differentially fixed sites between I. cornuta and I. latifolia; the remaining two individuals (Id1 and Id12) had the same sequence as I. latifolia on these two fixed sites. For the haplotype analysis, no polymorphism at this gene was detected for the eight individuals of I. chinenesis, while I. cornuta and I. latifolia had nine and seven haplotypes, respectively. In contrast, I. dabieshanensis exhibited much higher haplotype richness, with 15 haplotypes being detected. Eleven of the 15 haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia  were combined for this analysis, the number of minimum recombination events was three.The aligned length of the partial atifolia . The remhanensis . The hap species . RecombigapC gene matrix. Based on the Akaike Information Criterion in Modeltest, the best-fit model for the ML analysis is the HKY+G model. Phylogenetic analysis with the MP algorithm yielded one most parsimonious tree of 69 steps  were observed between I. cornuta and I. latifolia. All 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis exhibited chromatogram additivity on this fixed site. For the haplotype analysis, no polymorphism at this gene was detected for the eight individuals of I. chinenesis. Again, both I. cornuta and I. latifolia show relatively high levels of polymorphisms at this gene. Seven and six haplotypes were found in I. cornuta and I. latifolia, respectively. Thirteen haplotypes were detected in the 14 individuals of I. dabieshanensis. Seven of the 13 haplotypes of I. dabieshanensis were shared with those of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and six haplotypes were unique to I. dabieshanensis  were combined for recombination analysis, the number of minimum recombination events was nine.The partial anensis  that exhibited chromatogram additivity between I. cornuta and I. latifolia at the nepGS gene but identical haplotypes with I. latifolia at the gapC gene, must be later-generation hybrids. Furthermore, because chloroplast DNA is maternally inherited in the majority of angiosperms [Ilex, that 12 and 2 individuals of I. dabieshanensis have identical trnH-psbA sequences with I. latifolia and I. cornuta respectively indicate that the hybridization was bidirectional and asymmetrical.iosperms  and if iI. dabieshanensis at the nuclear genes, most of which are only one or two mutational steps from the haplotypes of I. cornuta or I. latifolia. This pattern may stem from unsampled polymorphisms in the parental species, which is not surprising given that both I. cornuta and I. latifolia have a relatively high level of polymorphism. Of course, we could not exclude the possibility of new mutations occurred in I. dabieshanensis and intragenic recombination. At each of the two nuclear genes, the number of minimum recombination events in the combined data of the three taxa is higher than the sum of minimum recombination events in I. cornuta and I. latifolia, suggesting that intragenic recombination should contribute to this. Together, the scarcity of taxon-specific haplotypes and the evidence of its hybrid origin indicate that I. dabieshanensis is not a biological species, and therefore, does not merit recognition of the species taxonomic rank.We also observed several haplotypes unique to I. cornuta and I. latifolia may be attributable to several factors. First, I. cornuta and I. latifolia have overlapping geographic distributions in Dabieshan Mountains region of Central China. Both species can occur in sparse forests and streamsides, although I. latifolia usually has higher elevations than I. cornuta in Dabieshan Mountains region. Second, flowering periods of both species are from April to May [Ilex [Ilex species [Interspecific hybridization between l to May ,8. Moreoay [Ilex  is anothay [Ilex ,6–8. Bee species . All theI. dabieshanensis can produce a great number of seeds and these seeds can germinate [I. dabieshanensis are identified as later generation hybrids in the hybrid zone, indicative of potential introgression. This is further supported by the nepGS gene analysis. Both haplotype network analysis and phylogenetic analysis of the nepGS gene reveal that one relatively common haplotype, C6 (D7), of I. cornuta is nested within the clade of I. latifolia rather than in its own clade. Introgression of I. latifolia alleles to I. cornuta can account for this. Moreover, this haplotype possesses the diagnostic nucleotide G (the 823rd site) of I. cornuta, which can be generated by intragenic recombination between alleles of I. cornuta and I. latifolia, and is also consistent with the occurrence of introgression. Introgression between species of Ilex has also been found in previous studies [I. cornuta and I. integra hybridize in Wando, Korea, the introgression is also skewed to I. cornuta [I. cornuta may contribute to its adaptation to local environments and thus facilitate its range expansion, a hypothesis in need of further testing.One of the prominent outcomes of natural hybridization is introgression. Introgression can facilitate adaptation by transfer of beneficial genes and corresponding traits –26. Unlierminate , thus of studies –18. InteIlex overlap to different degrees in geographic ranges and flowering periods [Ilex species [Ilex have proven successful with many combinations producing viable seeds [Ilex species should be incomplete. We propose that many species of Ilex that are morphologically intermediate between, and geographically overlapping with, other species, may in fact be of hybrid origin, a hypothesis in need of further testing.Besides the species mentioned here, many other species of  periods , 6–8. Fu species  also proIlex [I. dabieshanensis in this study and I. x wandoensis in a previous study [There are approximately 400–600 species in Ilex  and a laIlex ,8, and mus study , have beus study –12,20.Ilex was cosmopolitan during the Eocene [Ilex is a good system for studying speciation, extinction and biogeography [The fossil record indicates that the genus e Eocene ,10,39. Neography ,20. OnceI. dabieshanensis is of hybrid origin and mostly, I. latifolia is the maternal parent. One haplotype of I. cornuta at the nepGS gene is nested with those of I. latifolia, indicating introgression to I. cornuta. Although some narrowly ranging species in this genus, including I. dabieshanensis in this study, are products of interspecific hybridization, precisely assessing the role of hybridization in the species diversity and evolution in Ilex relies on comprehensive identification of hybrid taxa.The molecular data clearly demonstrate that


Dr. Jeffery Cutter and Dr. Raymond Tzer Pin Lin should be removed from the author byline and included in the Group Authorship. Dr. Vernon Jian Ming Lee should be included in the author byline and listed as the thirty-first author. His affiliation is 13: Communicable Diseases Division, Ministry of Health, Singapore, Singapore. Dr. Ang Li Wei should be included in the author byline and listed as the fifty-fourth author. His affiliation is with Epidemiology and Diseases Control Division, Ministry of Health, Singapore, Singapore.


Anachrysaadamsisp. nov., from Yunnan, China is described. Two new combinations are proposed, namely Anachrysaalviolata , comb. nov. and Anachrysatriangularis , comb. nov. An updated key to species is also provided.A new species,  The paper has been retracted by the publisher due to evidences of misconduct.The removed version is archived for the purpose of resolving nomenclatural questions and is available from the publisher upon request.


Procyon cancrivorus and Nasua nasua are two neotropical carnivoran species that have different evolutionary adaptations in their thoracic limbs. The aim of this study was to describe the anatomical arrangement of the brachial plexus of these species to review intra- and interspecific anatomical variations. The brachial plexus may originate in both species from the last four cervical spinal nerves  and the first two thoracic spinal nerves (T1 and T2). The contribution from C5 was higher in Nasua nasua, while the contribution from T2 was higher in Procyon cancrivorus. Interestingly, both species develop ansa axillaris and ansa pectoralis, which is a primitive anatomical arrangement that is shared with other members of arctoid carnivorans. Therefore, this study confirmed that both structures can be present in some wild carnivorans.The brachial plexus is a nervous network from which nerves originate to innervate the thoracic limb and its adjacent parts. It has been found with different origins and distributions in the thoracic limb between carnivoran species (interspecific) and even in the same species (intraspecific). Anatomical knowledge of the brachial plexus allows us to understand the differences and similarities between species to be applied in evolutionary biology. Procyon cancrivorus and Nasua nasua are two procyonids with different evolutionary adaptations to use their thoracic limbs. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the differences in the brachial plexus between both species. Five P. cancrivorus and five N. nasua cadavers were used to perform this investigation with the permission of the bioethics committee and environmental license. Gross dissections were performed on the cervical, pectoral, and thoracic limb regions to find the origin and distribution of the brachial plexus. The brachial plexus of both species originated in a variant manner from C5-T1, C5-T2, C6-T1, or C6-T2. All brachial plexus nerves were observed and, interestingly, the musculocutaneous sent a communicating branch to the median nerve medially to the axillary artery, forming an ansa axillaris in both species. An ansa pectoralis was also observed medially to the axillary artery. Additionally, in P. cancrivorus, the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis muscles and communicates with the median nerve at the elbow level to continue as a common trunk at the antebrachium. The brachial plexus has differences between both procyonids, although in both species, it could conserve a primitive arrangement present within the infraorder Arctoidea. Procyon cancrivorus) and the coati (Nasua nasua) are two mammal species that belong to the order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia, and family Procyonidae [P. cancrivorus is geographically distributed in Central and South America [N. nasua is only distributed in South America [Procyon and Nasua had a common ancestor within the family Procyonidae [P. cancrivorus has crepuscular, nocturnal, and solitary habits [N. nasua is gregarious with diurnal habits, although adult males have mainly solitary habits [The crab-eating raccoon  and shred dead logs [Procyon, due to the well-developed sense of touch in its hands, uses them to locate and handle animal prey [Procyon is also a good swimmer and fisher [The tebrates ,9. The dtebrates ,10,11, atebrates ,10,12,13tebrates ; howeverferences ,15. Bothferences , althougead logs . Procyonmal prey , manipulmal prey ,18. In ad fisher .Procyon has long thoracic limbs adapted to semidigitigrade and cursorial locomotion, while Nasua has short thoracic limbs adapted to palmigrade locomotion with long claws [Nasua has an enlarged sensory cortex region for receiving the afferent projections from the vibrissae of the nose and tactile carpal hairs, and Procyon has a well-developed cerebral sensorimotor cortex, which is focused in its hands due to the high density of cutaneous nerves [ng claws ,17. Nasus nerves . Therefos nerves .P. cancrivorus and N. nasua.Some brachial plexus studies in wild carnivorans only reported the origin of the nerves ,21,22, wP. cancrivorus   were used to perform this investigation  and one N. nasua were donated by CORPOCALDAS  to the Universidad del Tolima. One P. cancrivorus was donated by CORTOLIMA . Four N. nasua and one P. cancrivorus were collected from roads to the Universidade Federal de Catalão with a license from the Ministry of Environment of Brazil (SISBIO Number 37072-2). Three P. cancrivorus and four N. nasua had died from being run over on roads, and the other specimens died of natural causes. The bioethics committees of the Universidad del Tolima (agreement number 2.3-059), Universidade de São Paulo (CEUAx agreement number 3928240820), and Universidade de Catalão (CEUA-UFCAT agreement number 01/22) approved the use of these specimens in this investigation.Five cadavers of females)  and fivetigation . Two P. P. cancrivorus and all N. nasua specimens were repleted with natural latex tinctured with red vinyl via the femoral artery. One P. cancrivorus was repleted via the axillary artery due to a previous necropsy. The other specimens were not replete.The specimens were fixed with a solution of 10% formaldehyde via the femoral artery and were posteriorly immersed and conserved in closed containers with 5% formaldehyde. One Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria -NAV- [NAV were used due to the presence of other nerves and muscles in carnivorans, such as n. brachiocephalicus [Gross dissections were performed at the Amphitheater of Veterinary Anatomy of the Universidad del Tolima  and Comparative Anatomy of Wild Animals Laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Catalão . First, the skin was removed from the dorsal regions of the neck and trunk to the distal extreme of the thoracic limbs. The fascia around the muscles, nerves, and vessels was removed to review the distribution of the nerves. The pectoral muscles were disinserted from the sternum and the ventral part of the thoracic wall was removed to review the vascular relationships of the brachial plexus. Finally, the vessels, viscera, and ventral muscles of the neck and thorax were removed until the emergence of the ventral branches of the cervical and thoracic spinal nerves was found. The anatomical descriptions were performed according to the terminology of the ia -NAV- . Howeverphalicus , n. terephalicus ,35, m. pphalicus ,37, m. aphalicus , and m. phalicus . PhotogrP. cancrivorus originates bilaterally from the ventral branches of the cervical spinal nerves C6, C7, and C8, and the thoracic spinal nerves T1 and T2 (C6-T2). In one specimen, it originates from C5-T1 bilaterally (Pc5). In N. nasua, the brachial plexus originates from C5-T2 in six limbs, C5-T1 in two limbs, and C6-T1 in two limbs.The brachial plexus in four specimens of P. cancrivorus (Pc2), T2 is a large branch bilaterally. The ventral branches of C5, C6, C7, and C8 have a ventral relationship with the external jugular vein and the superficial cervical artery, while the common trunk of T1 and T2 has a ventral relationship with the axillary artery. C6 crosses ventrally to the scalenus muscle and sends two large branches , with the cranial directed laterally to form the suprascapular and brachiocephalic nerves. The caudal branch extends parallel to the scalenus muscle, forms the cranial subscapular nerve, and joins the ventral branch of C7. When C5 contributes to the brachial plexus, it joins C6 and forms the brachiocephalicus, suprascapular, and cranial subscapular nerves in N. nasua, and only the two former nerves in P. cancrivorus , it also forms an ansa pectoralis, which is a communicating branch with the caudal pectoral nerves . In the case of P. cancrivorus, the ansa axillaris forms the ansa pectoralis  and the m. subscapularis in all cases of N. nasua and one case bilaterally in P. cancrivorus (Nn5). The ventral branches of C8, T1, and T2 form two common trunks just lateral to the m. scalenus, the ventral caudal and dorsal caudal trunks. The former forms the common trunk of the median and ulnar nerves and a common trunk to the lateral thoracic and caudal pectoral nerves  and suprascapular nerves (N. suprascapularis) are formed from a single trunk in all P. cancrivorus and one limb of N. nasua (Nn1), while both originate independently in most limbs of N. nasua (P. cancrivorus (Pc3 and Pc4), the nerve receives communication from the ventral branch of C5 bilaterally just before passing through the space toward the skin. It innervates the cranial regions of the shoulder and the proximal half of the brachium and does not send a muscle branch to the m. cleidobrachialis. In one P. cancrivorus, it also communicates bilaterally with the cranial lateral brachial cutaneous nerve (Pc4). In one limb of P. cancrivorus (Pc5), the n. brachiocephalicus perforates the m. supraspinatus, innervates it, and continues laterally along its normal course. The suprascapular nerve passes between the subscapularis and supraspinatus muscles, cranially to the scapular incisure and laterally to the scapular neck until the m. infraspinatus. Two subscapular nerves (Nn. subscapulares) are formed in P. cancrivorus, and three are formed in N. nasua. However, three nerves are formed in one limb of P. cancrivorus (Pc4) and two nerves bilaterally in N. nasua (Nn4)  .N. axillaris) first sends one branch to the most caudal belly of the m. subscapularis and, in most cases, to the m. teres major in P. cancrivorus. In all N. nasua and one P. cancrivorus (Pc5), the nerve to the teres major muscle (N. teres major) originates directly from the dorsal cranial trunk and sends a small branch to the m. subscapularis , which extends between the m. brachialis and acromial part of the m. deltoideus to innervate the distal half of the brachium and elbow. It communicates with the medial branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in N. nasua and directly with the superficial branch of the radial nerve in P. cancrivorus. However, in one limb of N. nasua (Nn1), it also communicates with the lateral branch of the superficial radial nerve.The axillary nerve  extends laterally to the axillary and brachial arteries. Medial to the common tendon of the latissimus dorsi and teres major muscles, it forms branches to the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii, capita longum, mediale, and accessorium of the m. triceps brachii. The nerve passes laterally between the capita accessorium and mediale of the m. triceps brachii at the proximal third of the brachium (Ramus profundus) first innervates the brachioradialis and extensor carpi radialis muscles and passes deeply to the m. supinator to innervate the other muscles. It also innervates the m. brachialis unilaterally in two cases in P. cancrivorus (Pc2 and Pc5).The radial nerve  are relatively larger in P. cancrivorus than in N. nasua. In N. nasua, it divides into two branches, lateral  and medial , which extend laterally and medially to the cephalic vein, respectively. In P. cancrivorus, the superficial branch at the proximal fourth of the antebrachium is a large trunk and distally divides into three branches: lateral, medial, and accessory medial. The accessory medial branch forms at the proximal third of the antebrachium and joins the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve, and both form the abaxial dorsal digital nerve I and the dorsal common digital nerve I. The accessory medial branch is not present in N. nasua; thus, the latter two nerves are formed by the medial branch of the superficial radial nerve. However, there are communicating branches from the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve at the level of the antebrachium in N. nasua. The medial and lateral branches form the common dorsal nerves II and III due to communication between them proximal to the manus and the dorsum of the manus in both species. In P. cancrivorus, the lateral branch of the radial nerve and the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve form the common dorsal digital nerve IV, although the radial nerve contributes mainly to forming the abaxial proper dorsal digital nerve IV, and the ulnar nerve mainly forms the axial proper dorsal digital nerve V. In N. nasua, the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve forms the common dorsal digital nerve IV, although it receives weak communicating branches from the lateral branch of the radial nerve in three cases . The superficial branch of the radial nerve forms the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve  in P. cancrivorus, while it forms from the lateral branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in N. nasua. However, in one limb of N. nasua, it formed similarly to P. cancrivorus (Nn4)  .N. musculocutaneus) extends cranially to the axillary and brachial arteries, which form several branches. At the axillary level in P. cancrivorus, it forms the branch to the m. coracobrachialis and an ansa axillaris. This latter is named ansa axillaris because it passes medially to the axillary artery and forms two communicating branches, one proximal to the caudal pectoral nerves  and one distal to the median nerve . The ansa pectoralis does not form from the musculocutaneous nerve. The origin of the branch to the m. coracobrachialis is variant; therefore, it forms proximally to the ansa axillaris in two limbs , from the ansa axillaris in four limbs , from one branch of the ansa axillaris and another branch proximal to the ansa axillaris in one limb (Nn4), and distally to the ansa axillaris in three limbs  (At the axillary level in lly—Nn5) .Ramus muscularis proximalis) of the musculocutaneous nerve forms at the axillary level, and the main trunk of the musculocutaneous nerve continues distally between the brachial artery and the m. biceps brachii. At the distal third of the brachium, the nerve forms three branches: the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve , the distal muscular branch , and a branch to the elbow joint capsule. In P. cancrivorus, the main trunk of the nerve continues distally toward the antebrachium, which, at the elbow level, sends branches to the pronator teres and flexor carpi radialis muscles and communicates with the median nerve distally to the supracondylar foramen (Ramus communicans cum n. mediano), forming a common trunk toward the manus , the musculocutaneous has a different arrangement at the axillary and brachial regions. The ansa axillaris receives communicating branches from the median nerve, forming an ansa axillaris that is more proximal and medial to the axillary artery. From there, the musculocutaneous and median nerves continue as a common trunk medial to the brachial artery, which receives a communicating branch from the proximal muscular branch of the musculocutaneous nerve. The distal muscular branch and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve form from a branch of the common trunk at the level of the middle of the brachium  extends medially to the brachial artery at the proximal half of the brachium and at the distal half lateral to the brachial artery to pass alone through the supracondylar foramen (without vessels). At the level of the antebrachium, the median nerve sends branches to the caudomedial antebrachial muscles but not the flexor carpi ulnaris and capita ulnaris of the flexor digitorum profundus. In P. cancrivorus, it does not send branches to m. pronator teres and communicates with the musculocutaneous nerve. The median nerve extends together with the median artery between the flexor carpi radialis and the capita radialis of the m. flexor digitorum profundus to reach the manus passing through the carpal canal. Distal to the carpus, it forms common palmar nerves I to III. It also forms the common palmar nerve IV in one N. nasua bilaterally (Nn1), which receives a communicating branch from the superficial palmar branch of the ulnar nerve) (The median nerve (r nerve) .N. ulnaris) extends caudal to the brachial artery and cranial to the brachial vein and is covered by the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii at the level of the brachium. It passes deeply to the m. anconeus medialis just proximally and caudally to the medial epicondyle to continue toward the antebrachium between the m. flexor carpi ulnaris and caput ulnare of the m. flexor digitorum profundus. The nerve divides into dorsal and palmar branches  at the proximal third of the antebrachium in N. nasua and at the middle third in P. cancrivorus. The dorsal branch sends branches to the distal third of the caudolateral surface of the antebrachium and continues distally to pass superficially between the tendon of the m. flexor carpi ulnaris and the styloid process of the ulna. It passes laterally to the accessory carpal bone toward the dorsum of the manus and forms the common dorsal digital nerve IV and the abaxial dorsal digital nerve V. The palmar branch at the distal fourth of the antebrachium sends a branch to the skin, which extends to the venous sinuses of the tactile carpal hairs and the distal extreme of the antebrachium. This branch passes between the palmaris longus and flexor digitorum superficialis muscles in N. nasua, while in P. cancrivorus, it perforates the m. palmaris longus. At the carpal level, the palmar branch continues deeply to the flexor retinaculum and medial to the accessory carpal bone, where it forms the superficial and deep branches. The superficial branch forms the abaxial palmar digital nerve V and the common palmar digital nerve IV, and the deep branch forms the metacarpal nerves and innervates most of the intrinsic muscles of the manus  is an independent nerve to the ulnar nerve, which originates directly from T1 or T1-T2. It passes medially to the ulnar nerve at the axillary level, while at the brachial level, it passes medially to the brachial artery and cranially to the m. tensor fasciae antebrachii, reaching the caudal surface of the antebrachium (N. nasua (Nn4).The caudal antebrachial cutaneous nerve . The predominant origins of the subscapular, musculocutaneous, axillary, ulnar, long thoracic, lateral thoracic, and cranial pectoral nerves of both procyonids were similar to those of most carnivorans  in F. catus [P. concolor [A. melanoleuca [P. flavus [P. cancrivorus, and N. nasua.Some nerves develop other branches when there are extra muscles. Therefore, the musculocutaneous nerve innervates the caput breve of the m. biceps brachii and the m. coracobrachialis longus in . flavus  and A. manoleuca . The medcrivorus , as was F. catus , P. concconcolor , A. melaanoleuca , P. flav. flavus , P. cancNAV [F. catus [M. foina [Leopardus pardalis [P. concolor, it was considered a branch of n. suprascapularis to m. cleidobrachialis [F. catus, it was also considered only as a cutaneous branch of the n. suprascapularis, which extends to the cranial skin to the shoulder and brachium [P. cancrivorus and a variant manner in N. nasua, the latter arrangement was similar since the nerve formed from a common trunk with the n. suprascapularis and did not innervate the m. cleidobrachialis. In another procyonid, P. flavus, the brachiocephalic nerve innervated m. cleidobrachialis in only 50% of cases [P. flavus [N. nasua, and P. cancrivorus [A. melanoleuca [A. microtis [C. l. familiaris [F. catus [P. concolor [Pars clavicularis). On the other hand, n. brachiocephalicus has developed mainly to innervate the cranial and lateral skin of the shoulder and brachium in carnivorans, which was found in both procyonids.The name n. brachiocephalicus is not in the NAV , but it NAV ,34,45,46NAV . Other aF. catus ,51 or n.M. foina  and Leoppardalis . On the achialis . In F. cbrachium ,52. In tof cases . However. flavus , N. nasucrivorus , which wanoleuca , A. micrmicrotis , and C. miliaris ,53, and F. catus ,50,51 anconcolor . Based oconcolor , m. cleiconcolor ,53. Therconcolor ,37 in whN. nasua and P. cancrivorus, such as occurs in most carnivorans [N. nasua has been described in A. melanoleuca [The communication of the cranial lateral cutaneous brachial nerve of the axillary nerve with the medial branch of the superficial branch of the radial nerve was found in the common pattern of nivorans ,54,55. Canoleuca . TherefoP. cancrivorus and N. nasua is medial to the axillary artery, as was found in P. flavus [N. nasua has also been reported previously by other authors in the same species [Procyon lotor and P. flavus, while it was absent in the procyonid B. astutus [Procyon, Nasua, and Potos. However, in the case of P. cancrivorus, the ansa axillaris is formed more proximally than in other procyonid species. Other names were given to the ansa axillaris, such as axillary loop by Arlamowska-Palider [Neovison vison [M. martes [M. foina [M. meles [Mustela lutreola, Mustela putorius, and Mustela nivalis [Ailuropoda melanoleuca, Ursus americanus [Ursus arctos [Ailurus fulgens [N. procyonoides [M. meles, the ansa axillaris is formed by two branches [P. cancrivorus, one of the branches communicates with the caudal pectoral nerves. Therefore, the presence of an ansa axillaris in arctoid carnivorans  can bincluded . Even ityonoides  allows u a canid ,4. Howevby Davis , though by Davis ,45,46,58N. nasua. This common trunk of both nerves is a normal arrangement in ungulates [A common trunk of the musculocutaneous and median nerves at the brachial level has been found in Mephitis and some specimens of M. putorius , similarngulates ,53,58 anngulates . Therefongulates . ConsequN. nasua, which confirms other studies performed in the same species [P. flavus, it may be present but as a weak branch [P. cancrivorus, it is a large branch that is more a continuation of the musculocutaneous nerve together with the median nerve than a communicating branch. In one case of C. l. familiaris, it was reported that the musculocutaneous nerve did not join the median nerve but did not continue distally at the antebrachial region, replacing the median nerve to form common digital nerves I to III [A. australis [P. cancrivorus, the musculocutaneous nerve was a large nerve with two communicating branches (ansa axillaris and ramus comunicans), which differs from most carnivorans, who only have one communicating branch.The communicating branch of the musculocutaneous nerve with the median nerve at the elbow level was absent in all cases of  species ,58. In ak branch . In P. cI to III ,46,49,58ustralis , and felustralis ,24,32. Hustralis ,28,29,58A. melanoleuca [P. cancrivorus, and N. nasua, while it passes with the brachial artery in mustelids [P. flavus [P. concolor [P. onca [A. melanoleuca, it has been reported that the median nerve also innervates the m. flexor carpi ulnaris [A. melanoleuca presented by Davis [P. flavus [P. cancrivorus and N. nasua. It has a similar location in procyonids and is innervated by the median nerve. Therefore, palmaris longus or palmaris longus lateralis could have evolutionarily derived from m. flexor digitorum superficialis, not only from the last common ancestor of musteloids but also within arctoid carnivorans , both nerves also originate from a common trunk [The lateral thoracic nerve innervates m. cutaneus trunci in all carnivorans, although in some carnivorans, it also innervates m. pectoralis profundus, such as in . vulpes , C. thouC. thous , L. gymnnocercus , F. catuF. catus , P. yagouaroundi , and L. eoffroyi . In P. crofundus . Even inon trunk . Therefoon trunk  and the on trunk .P. cancrivorus and N. nasua is highly variable due to several communications between them. However, the communications between them in P. cancrivorus are by large branches of almost the same thickness as the main branch. In other carnivorans, both branches have a common pattern. Therefore, the medial branch forms the abaxial dorsal digital nerve I and the common dorsal digital nerve I, and the lateral branch forms the common dorsal digital nerves II to IV in canids, mustelids, and ursids [P. cancrivorus and N. nasua, the common dorsal digital nerves II and III originate from contributions of the lateral and medial branches of the superficial radial nerve. The medial cutaneous antebrachial nerve communicates with the medial branch of the radial nerve in felids [N. narica [N. nasua, and P. cancrivorus. Therefore, the axial and abaxial dorsal surfaces of digit I are innervated by the musculocutaneous and radial nerves in these species.The branching of the medial and lateral branches of the superficial radial nerve at the dorsum of the manus in d ursids ,35,43,54n felids ,54 and pP. cancrivorus, the most lateral branch forms the abaxial dorsal digital nerve IV, and this branch communicates with the axial dorsal digital nerve V, having a similar arrangement to that found in P. flavus [A. melanoleuca [F. catus, the lateral branch only forms the dorsal common digital nerves II to III, while the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve forms the dorsal common digital nerve IV [N. narica [N. nasua. In P. onca, the radial nerve does not innervate digit IV and is, thus, supplied axially and abaxially by the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve [P. concolor, dorsal common digital nerve III may be formed by communication between the lateral branch of the radial nerve and the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve [In . flavus  and A. manoleuca . In a fenerve IV ,29,52. Hnerve IV . Similarnerve IV ,54, ursiar nerve . In P. cP. flavus [N. nasua. The abaxial palmar digital nerve I in P. cancrivorus is formed by the median nerve, which occurs normally in other carnivorans [The medial cutaneous antebrachial nerve forms the abaxial palmar digital nerve I in . flavus , similarnivorans ,31,34,43P. cancrivorus and N. nasua, and a felid such as F. catus [A. melanoleuca [P. flavus [N. nasua. However, in A. melanoleuca [N. nasua, it may receive a communicating branch from the ulnar nerve. In felids such as P. concolor and P. onca, the median nerve does not innervate digit IV since the axial and abaxial palmar surfaces are innervated by the ulnar nerve [The ulnar nerve forms the palmar common digital nerve IV in canids ,34, mustF. catus ,28,29. Ianoleuca , in a pr. flavus , and as anoleuca  and N. nar nerve .N. nasua and P. cancrivorus were similar to those reported in P. flavus [C. l. familiaris [C. l. familiaris, it is normal because the fourth lumbrical muscle is absent [The branches of the ulnar and median nerves to the intrinsic muscles of the manus in . flavus , C. l. fmiliaris , and felmiliaris . Howevers absent .P. cancrivorus corroborates the anatomical adaptation of the nervous peripheral system of the genus Procyon to allow a higher touch sensitivity than other carnivorans. Even in P. lotor, a high innervation has been found with the presence of all types of sensory receptors in similar proportions compared with other mammals, such as primates [The large size of the palmar branches to the digits from the median, musculocutaneous, and ulnar nerves together with the large dorsal branches of the superficial branch of the radial nerve in primates ,76.N. nasua to the suprascapular and cranial subscapular nerves could be associated with a higher use of the scapular muscles to move the shoulder during digging. In addition, the innervation from the ulnar nerve to the sinusoids of the carpal tactile hairs should help to feel invertebrates underground and coordinate the movements in several terrestrial and arboreal substrates. On the other hand, P. cancrivorus has a higher contribution from T2, two communications from the musculocutaneous nerve to the median nerve, and relatively larger nervous branches to the skin. This arrangement could indicate that the thoracic limb nerves in P. cancrivorus have been more adapted to touch and greater manual skills than those in N. nasua, since P. cancrivorus uses its manus to bring the food to the mouth and even to search for food at night and underwater.The brachial plexus of both procyonid species originates in a variant manner from C5-T1, C5-T2, C6-T1, or C6-T2, from which form the thoracic limb nerves having a similar distribution to the muscles and skin. The major nerves, such as the radial and median nerves, originated from more spinal nerves than other nerves in both procyonids, which could be an anatomical adaptation to increase the function of the antebrachial muscles and skin sensitivity of the antebrachium and manus. However, some specific differences could be associated with the locomotor behavior in each species. The higher contribution from C5 in In general, through a comparative study with other species, the distribution and branching of the brachial plexus nerves also depends on the evolutive derivation of the muscles. The main nerve of the brachial plexus that presents changes in carnivorans is the musculocutaneous nerve, mainly due to the presence of communicating branches with the median nerve. The presence of ansa axillaris and ansa pectoralis in both procyonids mainly has a phylogenetic relationship within the infraorder Arctoidea since both structures can be in ursoid and musteloid species. The communicating branches between nerves also have a phylogenetic relationship not only with the common ancestor of carnivorans but also with other mammals and even reptiles. The dorsal sensory innervation of the manus is highly variable in most carnivorans due to the dorsal communicating branches and does not depend on the taxonomic family. However, in canids, it seems constant.


Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) include a wide range of bacteria, parasites and viruses that cause a large spectrum of animal, human and zoonotic tick-borne diseases (TBDs). The object of this review was to establish an inventory and an analysis of TBPs found in domestic animals in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. This geographic area occupies a central position between several continents and is an area of movement for animals, humans and pathogens of interest and their vectors, which is important in terms of animal and human health. In this systematic review, we included a total of 271 publications produced between 2000–2021 concerning TBPs in domestic animals. Among this literature, we found a total of 90 pathogen species (known as TBPs) reported in the 20 countries of the area; these were detected in tick species from domestic animals and were also directly detected in domestic animals. In all, 31 tick species were recorded and 12 domestic animal species, the latter comprising nine livestock and three pet species. More than 50% of the publications were from Western Europe. Island data were extracted and assessed, as islands of the Mediterranean Basin were represented in 16% of the publications and 77.8% of the TBPs reported. Our results show the importance of islands in the monitoring of TBPs, despite the low percentage of publications. Pathogens are one of the largest threats to health worldwide. They can be divided into four main groups: bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. These groups are present on all the continents and in the oceans, and target all types of plants and animals as well as humans, depending on their tropism and life cycle . These pAmong the different pathogens, many are zoonotic and are transmitted between animals and humans, while others are non-zoonotic and specifically target either humans or animals. Zoonotic pathogens account for about 60% of pathogens worldwide and are particularly present in emerging diseases . TransmiRickettsia-like, Francisella-like or Coxiella-like organisms. These are endosymbiotic intracellular bacteria that are harmless to mammals and may be required for tick survival [Hematophagous arthropod vectors can transmit pathogens called vector-borne pathogens (VBPs), which may be zoonotic or non-zoonotic, from one individual to another. They can transmit bacteria, parasites and viruses . For exasurvival . In prevIxodida order. They are composed of three families distributed across the world. The Ixodidae family is divided into the Prostriasta  and Metastriata . These are also named “hard ticks”, and the family includes most species. The Argasidae family is divided into two subfamilies, the Argasinae (genus Argas) and the Ornithodorinae , also named “soft ticks”. The Nuttallielliedae family is composed of just one species [Ticks (Ixodida) rank first for veterinary vector-borne pathogens and second for human pathogens, just after mosquitoes ,9. Ticks species . The tic species . Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and the genus Borrelia, and could be transmitted by a wide range of ticks [Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii, with approximately 65,500 cases every year [Orthonairovirus, which is responsible for many outbreaks internationally, with a high fatality rate of 40% [Hyalomma, which act as both vector and reservoir [Babesia genus are transmitted by ticks and can threaten human and veterinary health [Ticks can transmit a wide range of bacteria, parasites and viruses . An examof ticks . In Euroe of 40% . It is meservoir . Regardiy health . Ixodes ricinus, in the Mediterranean Basin the development of dry areas with arid types of vegetation favors the proliferation of ticks such as Hyalomma marginatum [Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. [Given its geographic position between Europe and Africa, the Mediterranean Sea is bordered by a significant number of countries with a high variation of biotopes, ranging from Mediterranean to arid climates. The Mediterranean Basin is an area highly affected by climatic change, animal migration and human activity ,16. Whilrginatum . This derginatum . This surginatum . Other meus s.l. .We focused our review on the countries of the Mediterranean Basin where the different TBPs detected in domestic animals and their ticks were screened. Moreover, in order to compare the geographical distribution of these TBPs, and to highlight possible changes in their spread in the future, four areas were considered: Western Europe, composed of France, Italy, Malta, Monaco and Spain; the Balkans, composed of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia; the Middle East, composed of Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey; and finally North Africa, composed of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. The different areas were determined by common biotope and geographic proximity. The last part of our review was to investigate the potential role of the western and eastern islands in the monitoring of TBPs in domestic animals and their ticks, according to their geographic position, surface areas and potential role in TBP circulation through animal migration. In this part, we focused on the distribution of TBPs in the Mediterranean islands in order to determine a potential role of the islands in the distribution of TBPs.The aim of this study was to review, according to PRISMA guidelines, the literature published between 2000 and early 2021 addressing the presence of TBPs on domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, with the following objectives: Perform a bibliometric analysis of TBP studies.Review the diversity of TBPs, positive engorged tick species, domestic animal hosts of TBPs and positive tick species. Compare the distribution of TBPs from domestic animals and their ticks in the four main areas defined.Focus on the distribution of TBPs in the Mediterranean islands.n = 20). We followed PRISMA guidelines and used explicit and systematic methods to identify, select and evaluate the studies relevant to the topic [We undertook a literature review concerning tick-borne pathogens in all countries of the Mediterranean Basin n = . We follDid the study include a country with a Mediterranean coast: Yes/NoDid the study include tick-borne pathogens: Yes/NoDid the study exclude ticks collected in vegetation: Yes/NoAll articles published in English in international journals indexed by PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were considered . The datOnly publications considering TBPs in domestic animals and/or TBPs in engorged ticks collected on domestic animals in Mediterranean countries were included. This made it possible to conduct an overview of research about TBPs potentially infesting and circulating in the domestic animal population only. The articles were saved if the answers to the three questions were “yes”; otherwise they were eliminated. For the next step, we reviewed the full-text and entered the information of interest into a database for 299 articles. We also excluded articles that we found did not fit the criteria after reading the full text.n = 81). We reviewed the bibliography of each selected article in order to check for new articles to include in the review and relevant articles in the field of research. We followed the same steps as previously described for new articles (n = 109) and retained only articles dealing with domestic animals (n = 271). The selection steps are summarized in For the last step, we excluded articles dealing with wild animals . Babesia vogeli was the species found in the largest range of countries among the 15 Babesia species found in domestic animals. Babesia vogeli was found in seven countries  and was not detected in countries of North Africa. Among these seven countries, the highest prevalence of B. vogeli in animals was 14% from dogs in Italy and 10.5% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. ticks collected from dogs in France [B. canis and B. ovis. Babesia canis was found in five countries . The highest prevalence was 71.4% from dogs in Italy along with 5.65% from Rh. sanguineus s.l. and Dermacentor reticulatus from dogs in France. Babesia ovis was found in five countries . The genus Babesia is one of the most frequently screened or found pathogens, along with Rickettsia and Anaplasma, featuring in 17.7% of the publications. It was the most commonly screened or found of the parasites, featuring in 46.2% of the publications concerning parasites. It showed the highest species diversity, just after the genus Rickettsia.n France ,59. The HepatozoonHepatozoon are intracellular protozoa belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa that infect amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles [Hepatozoon canis was found in cats or dogs in eight countries . The highest prevalence was 22.3% in dogs along with 20.58% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs, both occurring in Turkey [Hepatozoon felis, with the highest prevalence found to be 5.1% from cats in Italy and 1.7% from Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs in Turkey [Hepatozoon was the third most commonly found or screened parasite, featuring in a total of 7% of the overall publications and 18.2% of the publications concerning parasites. Pathogens in the genus Hepatozoon were found only in two pet hosts (cats and dogs).Parasites in the genus reptiles . Two spen Turkey ,238. Then Turkey ,80. The TheileriaBabesia and Hepatozoon, the genus Theileria belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa, and with Babesia, also to the piroplasmids group. Species in this genus infect mammals and have an obligatory cycle in ticks. They cause benign to fatal theileriosis in breeding animals [T. annae, T. annulata, T. buffeli, T. cervi, T. equi, T. lestoquardi, T. luwenshuni, T. orientalis, T. ovis, T. uilenberg and T. sergenti. The species found in the most countries were T. ovis, T. annulata and T. buffeli. T. ovis was found in six countries , as was T. annulata , while T. buffeli was found in five countries . The highest prevalence of T. ovis was 53.3% in goats and sheep from Algeria, along with 37.35% in ticks from the genus Rhipicephalus taken from goats and sheep in Algeria [T. annulata was found in 64% of cattle from Turkey and in 5% of Rh. (Bo.) annulatus collected from cattle, goats and sheep from Algeria [T. buffeli was 11.56% from cattle in Turkey along with 2.8% in three tick species, I. hexagonus, I. ricinus and Rh. sanguineus s.l., from cattle in Italy [Babesia, the genus Theileria has widespread distribution in a large number of countries. It was found in 17.3% of the overall publications and 45.2% of the publications concerning parasites.Along with  animals . A total Algeria ,66. T. a Algeria ,92. The in Italy ,240. SimAnaplasma includes intracellular Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Anaplasmataceae from the Rickettsiales order. Most of these bacteria are zoonotic and have a high impact on veterinary health; for instance, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma ovis; and also on human health; for instance, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma platys [A. platys, responsible for canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, which was found in 11 countries out of 20 in the Mediterranean Basin . Six different tick species were found to be positive and to transmit this pathogen, with Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. as the main tick species, and with the highest prevalence in Morocco at 6.25%. The most common host was the dog, with a prevalence of 40.8% and 33% positive blood samples in Italy [A. phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, found in 10 countries . Out of six tick species found to be positive for this bacterium, Rh. sanguineus s.l. was the main tick species, especially on dogs. The highest prevalence of A. phagocytophilum in Rh. sanguineus s.l. was 13.7% in Egypt. The main pathogen host was cattle, with a prevalence of 40.6% in blood samples in Algeria [The genus a platys ,242. Thein Italy ,113,148. Algeria ,130.Anaplasma genus is both highly represented in the Mediterranean Basin and also highly screened, with detection in more than 25.8% of the publications analyzed and in 44.9% of the publications concerning bacteria. This can be explained by the number of countries (12) and hosts affected (11), and shows the public health and veterinary importance of this genus in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, especially for the two zoonotic species A. phagocytophilum and A. platys.As seen above, the Bartonella are Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the family Bartonellaceae from the Rhizobiales order, and half of them are known to be zoonotic. They are responsible for diseases such as trench fever and cat-scratch disease, and frequently cause endocarditis [Bartonella henselae, responsible for cat-scratch disease, detected in five countries . Bartonella henselae were mainly found in Ixodes ricinus, with the highest prevalence in Italy at 5.4% [Bartonella species detected were observed in only one or two countries, mainly Italy and Spain.carditis . The mos at 5.4% . The tic at 5.4% . The othBartonella genus is less often screened for and less often found than the previous genus, featuring in only 7.7% of the publications and 13.5% of the publications concerning bacteria. It is mainly screened for in pets (cats and dogs). This genus is mainly transmitted by biting flies and by fleas; however, it is evident that ticks can also be involved [Bartonella genus in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Veterinary interest in the genus focuses on pets.The involved . This shBorrelia genus includes spirochetes bacteria belonging to the family Spirochaetaceae. It is divided into two groups: the Lyme borreliosis group responsible for Lyme disease, which is mainly caused by bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, and the relapsing fever group, which includes Borrelia miyamotoi [B. burgdorferi sensu lato group, with the highest prevalence in animal hosts at 1.47% in dogs from Italy; and in ticks at 53% and 26% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. and Rh. annulatus, respectively, from cattle in Italy. Concerning B. afzeeli, B. garinii and B. valaisiana, the highest occurrence rates in ticks were 4.3%, 4.3% and 6.4%, respectively, from Ixodes ricinus collected from dogs in Spain [Borrelia theileri, which is a relapsing fever bacterium responsible for bovine borreliosis [The iyamotoi . The maiin Spain ,127. Thereliosis . It was reliosis .Borrelia found in domestic animals from the Mediterranean Basin were mainly from the Lyme Borreliosis group, except for Bo. theileri. They were detected in only 4.1% of the publications analyzed and in 7.1% of the publications concerning bacteria. Among these publications, they were more commonly found in ticks (72.7%) than in animal hosts (27.8%). On the basis of these results, research seems to be more focused on the possible circulation of infested ticks than on the potential role of domestic animals as reservoirs of the pathogen. Borrelia is either poorly screened or not common in domestic animals from countries of the Mediterranean Basin.Chlamydia and Chlamydophila belong to the Chlamydiales, which are Gram-negative bacteria responsible for a wide range of diseases throughout almost the entire animal realm [Chlamydia/Chlamydophila [Chlamydia abortus, from the genus Chlamydia, with the highest prevalence at 40.5% in Ixodes ricinus from cats in Italy. The second, belonging to the genus Chlamydophila, is Chlamydia psittaci, with the highest prevalence at 4.4% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. from dogs and breeding animals in Italy. No bacteria were found in animal hosts. The Chlamydia genus was found in 0.7% of the overall publications and in 1.3% of the publications concerning bacteria. This shows a possible role of ticks in the circulation of Chlamydia species; however, transmission and circulation in the domestic animal population in the countries of the Mediterranean Rim cannot be confirmed.The genera al realm . Recentlydophila ,160. TwoCoxiella burnetii, responsible for Q fever, which is transmitted by ticks and affects both humans and animals. This disease has a worldwide distribution and can cause febrile illness, endocarditis, meningoencephalitis or pneumonia in humans, while it is mainly asymptomatic in animals apart from sporadic cases of abortion in pregnant animals [Rh. sanguineus s.l. from goats and sheep in Cyprus [C. burnetii, most of the publications investigated the ticks as well as their hosts, indicating a level of public health and veterinary interest.Only one pathogen is representative of this genus:  animals . It has n Cyprus ,177. ThiEhrlichia spp. is a genus closely related to Anaplasma spp., and is responsible for human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia canis) and for canine ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis) [Ehrlichia canis, which is responsible for disease in both humans and dogs. It has been detected in 10 countries  and its highest prevalence was found at 48.5% in dogs from Italy and 6.6% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from dogs in Turkey [E. equi, E. ewingii, E. minacensis and Candidatus E. urmitei, have a minor health impact and were each found in only one country. The Ehrlichia genus was the third most common bacterial genus found or screened for after Anaplasma and Rickettsia, featuring in 11.8% of the overall publications and 20.5% of the publications concerning bacteria. Among the publications dealing with the Ehrlichia genus, 93.5% concerned E. canis.a canis) . The main Turkey ,206. TheNeoehrlichia mikurensis, which causes chronic lymphocytic leukemia, for example. Its vectors are from the Ixodes genus, and rodents are the most well-known hosts [I. ricinus from cattle [Of the four bacteria in this genus, only one is a human pathogen: wn hosts . In domem cattle . This spFrancisella are Gram-negative bacteria with one important species, Francisella tularensis, responsible for tularemia in humans and animals [Francisella spp. level was identified. It was found only in Italy, with a prevalence of 66%, 21% and 8% in Hyalomma marginatum, Rh. bursa and Rh. (Boophilus) annulatus from cattle, respectively. As with the Neoehrlichia genus, no Francisella was detected directly in animal hosts [Bacteria from the genus  animals . In the al hosts .Leptospira includes spirochetes and zoonotic bacteria that are responsible for leptospirosis worldwide. The first case was documented over 100 years ago. The bacteria are usually transmitted by direct or indirect contact with a contaminated element, but can also be found in ticks [Leptospira spp. was detected. It was found in Egypt with a prevalence of 50%, 41%, 40% and 29% from camel, sheep, cattle and buffalo, respectively [Leptospira spp. was only found in domestic animals and not in ticks. However, similarly to the two previous genera, it was found in 0.4% of the overall publications and in 0.6% of publications concerning bacteria. Nevertheless, the Leptospira genus has already been found in ticks in Europe [The genus in ticks ,252. Agaectively . Unlike Mycoplasma is composed of commensal and pathogenic bacteria that can cause anemia in a wide range of mammals [Mycoplasma haemocanis, My. haemofelis, Candidatus My. haemonutum, Candidatus My. haematoparvum and Candidatus My. turicensis were found, but only My. heamocanis and Candidatus My. haematoparvum were found in two countries (Greece and Turkey). The prevalence of My. haemocanis was 5.6% in dogs from Greece and 26.2% in dogs from Turkey. For Candidatus My. haematoparvum, the prevalence was 4.2% from dogs in Greece and 6.7% from dogs in Turkey [Leptospira genus, the Mycoplasma genus was found only in animals in this review. It was found in 2.2% of the publications and in 1.3% of the publications concerning bacteria.The genus  mammals ,254,255.n Turkey ,186. TheRickettsia is one of the most important tick-borne pathogen genera. It is divided into two groups: the spotted fever group (SFG), including Rickettsia conorii, causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, and the typhus group (TG), which is less well-known and includes, for example, Rickettsia typhi [R. aeschlimannii, R. africae, R. conorii, R. conorii israelensis, R. felis, R. helvetica, R. hoogstraalii, R. massiliae, R. monacensis, R. raoultii, R. rickettsia, R. rhipicephali, R. sibirica mongolotimonae, R. slovaca, Candidatus R. barbariae and Candidatus R. goldwasserii), and one was from the TG: R. typhi. Of these Rickettsia spp., Rickettsia massiliae (SFG group) was the most widespread bacterium and was detected in 10 countries . Its highest prevalence was 40.4% in Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from cattle, dogs and sheep from Algeria, and 2.7% from camel blood in Tunisia [R. africae (SFG group), found in eight countries , with the highest prevalence at 26.7% in Hyalomma impeltatum collected from cattle and camels in Egypt, and 0.3% in camel blood from Tunisia [Rickettsia typhi was the only bacterium from the TG group, detected with a prevalence of 29.7% from cats in Greece [Rickettsia is widespread and diversified in domestic animals and their ticks, and is widely screened; it was found in 25.3% of the publications overall, and in 44.2% of the publications concerning bacteria. This genus is the second most commonly studied after Anaplasma spp. However, the SFG group (98.6% of the publications) was of the greatest scientific interest compared to the TG group (1.4% of the publications).The genus ia typhi ,257. Sev Tunisia ,213. The Tunisia ,201. Ricn Greece . On the Amblyomma, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus from cattle in Egypt, with a prevalence of 65.5% [This genus includes species that affect a broad range of domestic ruminants and that have a considerable economic impact, especially in Africa and the Middle East. It covers three species: lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), goatpox virus (GTPV) and sheeppox virus (SPV) . Among tof 65.5% . It was flavivirus, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), was found in two countries in domestic animals: in Greece, with a prevalence of 1.4% from I. ricinus ticks from goats, and in Italy, with a prevalence of 16.43% in goats [The flaviviruses are an important part of the arboviruses. They are transmitted by both mosquitoes and ticks. They mainly infect mammals and account for a large proportion of the recent outbreaks of public health and veterinary concern in terms of morbidity and mortality . The mosin goats ,225. TBEHyalomma, causes severe or even fatal human disease across almost all of the Old World, and its range has expanded with climate change [Hyalomma spp., Rhipicephalus spp. and Ixodes spp.) collected from buffalo, cattle, goats and sheep in Turkey [Globally, this genus is mainly represented by one species: Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV). This virus is transmitted by ticks, mainly from the genus e change . In domen Turkey ,230. CCHAmblyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus. These genera are widely distributed in this region. The last genus, which was collected in Algeria and Egypt, represents the soft ticks (Argasidae): Argas : ): Argas . The div): Argas .Rhipicephalus (Rh (Bo.). annulatus, Rh. appendiculatus, Rh. bursa, Rh (Bo.). microplus, Rh. pusillus and Rh. sanguineus s.l. Out of these 57 TBP species, 47 were detected in Rh. sanguineus s.l., which was the tick species with the highest number of pathogenic species found in our review  with tropism for large mammals upon reaching their adult forms, and for small mammals and birds while in their immature stages. Hyalomma species are mainly distributed in the southern part of the Mediterranean Basin, with a slow increase in range in Western Europe and the Balkans [Hyalomma, the species found positive for the largest number of TBPs was Hy. marginatum  have been identified. Positive ticks were only found on cattle. The virus and bacteria detected were lumpy skin disease virus and Rickettsia africae  and their ticks (63 studies) were found for 14 countries, while cat and rabbit data were found in only five countries and one country, respectively .Among the 90 TBPs listed in this review (in livestock or pets), 66 were detected in ticks from animals and 69 directly in the animals. The highest number of pathogens was found in ticks on dogs (66.7%) . The lisThe research effort, expressed by the number of publications, varies greatly from one animal to another. This is why it is difficult to conclude that an animal, or its ticks, are more or less susceptible to being infected by TBPs. In this sense, In this section, we divide the countries of the Mediterranean Basin into four different areas to allow for better comparison of the data found. Western Europe is made up of France, Italy, Malta, Monaco and Spain, which represented 45.7% of the publications. North Africa, which includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, had a percentage of 26.1% of the total publications included in this review. The Middle East, which is composed of Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey, represented 17.7%. The Balkans area is made up of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro and Slovenia, and had 10.33% of the publications. The five countries in which no pathogens were found on domestic animals or their ticks were Bosnia-Herzegovina, Libya, Malta, Monaco and Syria.Amblyomma spp., Dermacentor spp., Haemaphysalis spp., Hyalomma spp., Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. The most commonly found host was the dog , it was found both in livestock and pets, with equal importance in terms of health. The other main tick genus was Hyalomma spp. which was mainly found on livestock , from the eastern Basin, including Crete, Cyprus, Ios, Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos, Skopelos and Tinos (8 publications) .On the islands, a total of nine domestic animal hosts were studied: cats, cattle, dogs, donkeys, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits and sheep. Despite this host diversity, the majority of the islands followed the same schema as in the rest of the Mediterranean Basin, with the dog predominating as host of positive ticks and TBPs (43.2% of the island publications), followed by cattle, sheep and goats. We also observed a higher diversity of domestic animal hosts (eight species) in the data reported in the western islands  than in the eastern islands  . In the Amblyomma spp., Dermacentor spp., Haemaphysalis spp., Hyalomma spp., Ixodes spp. and Rhipicephalus spp. , while only nine were reported (77.8% bacteria and 22.2% parasites) in the eastern islands. In both groups, the main reported genus was Anaplasma, followed by Rickettsia , a high diversity of TBPs was reported. This may indicate the importance of islands in the monitoring of TBPs in domestic animals in the Mediterranean Basin.Anaplasma spp. and Rickettsia spp. The data collected reflected a high diversity of TBPs in domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin, which shows their importance in veterinary and human health. A wide range of pathogens was reported in seven positive tick genera (six hard ticks and one soft tick) and 31 tick species. The most-reported genus was Rhipicephalus spp., a genus found in a large range of domestic animals, from livestock to pets. This genus is also known for the transmission of TBPs from the genera Anaplasma and Rickettsia. These TBPs and positive tick genera were reported in 12 different domestic animal hosts divided into two groups: livestock and pets. The main domestic animal hosts were both dogs and cattle, from which the highest diversity of TBPs was reported. This seems linked to the quantity of data reported for these hosts. In the four areas of the Mediterranean Basin , the main studied host was the dog (except in North Africa) and the main positive tick genus was Rhipicephalus. Depending on the area, the second most important genera were Ixodes or Hyalomma. This could be due to the distribution area of Ixodes spp. in Europe and the distribution area of Hyalomma spp. on the south border of the Mediterranean Basin and its expansion through the islands [In this study, 90 TBPs from 18 genera of bacteria, parasites and viruses were reported in domestic animals and their ticks in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Most pathogens were bacteria, followed by parasites and viruses. The main genera detected were bacteria:  islands ,267. The