Members of the genus Borrelia are among the most common infectious agents causing tick-borne disease in humans worldwide. Here, we developed a Light Upon eXtension (LUX) real-time PCR assay that can detect and quantify Borrelia species in ticks that have fed on humans, and we applied the assay to 399 such ticks. Borrelia PCR-positive ticks were identified to species level by sequencing the prod...

The nucleotide sequences of the groEL genes, the flagellin genes, and the 16S rRNA genes from 22 reference strains of Borrelia were compared. groEL sequence analysis is useful not only in interspecies differentiation but also in intraspecies differentiation of Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii isolates.

Unlike Borrelia burgdorferi, the relapsing fever agent Borrelia hermsii and the related Borrelia miyamotoi had purA and purB genes of the purine salvage pathway. These were located among the rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these genes had a different evolutionary history than those of orthologs in other spirochetes.

Until recently, three spirochete genospecies were considered to be the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Europe: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii. However, the DNA of Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmanii and Borrelia bissettii has already been detected in samples of human origin, or the spirochetes were isolated from t...

A serological survey of Borrelia infection of dogs was performed in Sapporo, Japan, where Borrelia garinii infection in dogs was detected in 2011. A total of 314 serum samples were collected from dogs that visited three animal hospitals in Sapporo from 2012 to 2014. The two-step evaluation method, involving screening ELISA followed by Western blot analysis, was used to detect antibodies against...

To define the role of birds as reservoirs and disseminators of Borrelia spirochetes, we characterized tick infestation and reservoir competence of migratory passerine birds in Sweden. A total of 1,120 immature Ixodes ricinus ticks were removed from 13,260 birds and assayed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Borrelia, followed by DNA sequencing for species and genotype identific...

Over 80% of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States occur in coastal regions of northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. The genetic structure of the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) and its main tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) was studied concurrently and comparatively by sampling natural populations of I. scapularis ticks along the East Coast from 1996 to 1998. Borrelia...

Spatio-temporal distribution of epifauna collected with a sledge was studied on the Cilician shelf of the Mediterranean Sea. There were two different communities: the shallow community was restricted to water at 5 and 10 m deep with sandy bottom inhabited abundantly by Conomurex persicus, Arnoglossus laterna and Murex trunculus. Conomurex persicus, an introduced tropical species predominated th...

Many vector-borne pathogens consist of multiple strains that circulate in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector. Characterization of the community of pathogen strains in the arthropod vector is therefore important for understanding the epidemiology of mixed vector-borne infections. Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii are two species of tick-borne bacteria that cause Lyme disease in huma...

The genus Borrelia was known more than a century ago following the discovery of Borrelia recurrentis as the causative agent of epidemic relapsing fever. Interest in Borrelia increased dramatically after the recent discovery of Lyme disease and the observation that it is caused by a novel member of the genus. Borrelia are spirochaetes, organisms that comprise a separate phylum in the kingdom of ...