Borrelia theileri is a tick-borne spirochete causative agent of fever, apathy and reduced food consumption in cattle. Molecular diagnosis has expanded the understanding of Borrelia theileri with new hosts and geographical locations being described. The present study aimed to describe the first molecular detection of B. theileri in wild tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) from South America. Blood DNA samples obtained from 99 tapirs sampled in Pantanal (n = 61) and Cerrado (n = 38) biomes were screened using a qPCR assay based on the 16 S rRNA gene of Borrelia sp. Positive samples in the qPCR assay were subjected to PCR assays to allow characterization of fragments from 16 S rRNA and flaB genes. Two (2/99; 2.0%) animals from Pantanal biome were positive in the qPCR and one sample presented bands of expected size for the flaB protocol. Amplicons from this sample were successfully cloned and sequenced. In the phylogenetic analysis, Borrelia sp. from T. terrestris grouped together with B. theileri sequences previously detected in Rhipicephalus microplus ticks and cattle from Minas Gerais State in Brazil, Rhipicephalus geigyi from Mali, and R. microplus and Haemaphysalis sulcata from Pakistan. This finding contributes to our knowledge regarding susceptible hosts species for B. theileri. More studies are necessary to understand the potential effects of B. theileri on tapir’s health.

泰氏疏螺旋体是一种蜱传螺旋体，可引起牛发烧、冷漠和食物消耗减少。分子诊断扩大了对泰氏疏螺旋体的了解，描述了新的宿主和地理位置。本研究旨在描述南美洲野生貘（Tapirus terrestris ）中首次对B. theileri进行分子检测。使用基于疏螺旋体 属 16 S rRNA 基因的 qPCR 检测对潘塔纳尔 ( n  = 61 ) 和塞拉多 ( n = 38 ) 生物群落中的 99 只貘采集的血液 DNA 样本进行了筛选。对 qPCR 测定中的阳性样品进行 PCR 测定，以鉴定 16 S rRNA 和flaB基因的片段。来自潘塔纳尔生物群落的两只 (2/99; 2.0%) 动物在 qPCR 中呈阳性，一份样本呈现出flaB方案预期大小的条带。该样本的扩增子已成功克隆并测序。在系统发育分析中，Borrelia sp。来自T. terrestris 的序列与先前在巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州的Rhipicephalus microplus蜱和牛、马里的Rhipicephalus geigyi以及来自巴基斯坦的R. microplus和Haemaphysalis sulcata中检测到的B. theileri序列组合在一起。这一发现有助于我们了解泰氏拟杆菌的易感宿主物种。需要更多的研究来了解泰勒氏杆菌对貘健康的潜在影响。