Fig. 1

Phylogenetic analysis of the microorganisms detected in this study from ticks collected from cattle in Angola (marked with diamonds). The maximum likelihood trees were obtained using the general time reversible model, a discrete gamma distribution and a proportion of invariable sites (GTR + G + I), with nucleotide substitution selected according to the Akaike information criterion implemented in Mega X. The trees are drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. Numbers (> 60%) shown at the nodes correspond to bootstrapped percentages (for 500 repetitions). The GenBank accession numbers of the sequences used in these analyses are shown in brackets. a Ehrlichia phylogeny was based on 23 partial 16S rRNA gene sequences with a total of 1373 positions in the final dataset. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis was used as an outgroup. b Ehrlichia phylogeny was based on 22 partial groESL gene sequences with a total of 1232 positions in the final dataset. Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis was used as an outgroup. c Coxiella-like phylogeny was based on 51 partial rpoB and groEL concatenated sequences with a total of 1055 positions in the final dataset. Rickettsiella sp. was used as an outgroup. d Phylogeny of Spiroplasma spp. found in ticks based on 18 partial rpoB sequences with a total of 588 positions in the final dataset. e Phylogeny of Babesia species based on 18S rRNA analysis. The analysis involved 40 nucleotide sequences and a total of 481 positions in the final dataset. Plasmodium falciparum was used as outgroup