AIMS 16S rDNA sequences of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato were aligned with the 16S rDNA sequences of Borrelia hermsii, Borrelia turicatae, and Borrelia lonestari in order to identify primers that might be used to more specifically identify agents of human Lyme disease in ticks in human skin samples. METHODS AND RESULTS Standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using an oligonucleotide seque...

This review summarizes the literature on scleratrophic skin lesions as a manifestation of a Borrelia infection. An association of morphea with Lyme borreliosis was mainly reported from Middle-European Countries, Japan and South America. B. afzelii has been identified predominantly from the chronic skin lesions of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) and has been cultivated from morphea les...

In order to differentiate species within the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, LightCyler PCR and melting-curve analysis of the amplicons of two genes with intraspecies variability, the p66 gene and the recA gene, were performed. It was demonstrated that nested LightCycler PCR amplification of p66 is more sensitive in the detection of borrelia DNA than amplification of the recA gene. B. ...

An antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for detecting North American isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi in larval, nymphal, and adult ticks. The assay uses an anti-OspA monoclonal antibody (H5332) for antigen capture and biotin-labelled polyclonal sera with streptavidinhorseradish peroxidase for signal generation. The assay recognized 15 of 15 North American B. ...

Lyme borreliosis (LB), caused by Borrelia burgdorferi (B.b.), is the most frequently diagnosed tick-borne zoonosis in temperate zones of the Northern hemisphere. Borrelia is unique among bacteria in its ability to express a wide variety of lipoproteins on its surface, which play an essential role in pathogenesis. Surface proteins of spirochetes are important virulence determinants, immune evasi...

Examination of a number of previously published aligned Borrelia 16S rRNA sequences revealed the presence of regions which could serve as oligonucleotide probe targets for both species-specific identification of Borrelia burgdorferi and distinction between genomic groups. Total cellular RNA isolated from Borrelia cultures was used in slot blot analysis. Radiolabeled oligonucleotides designed to...

14 samples from noninoculated guinea pig brains as negative controls. All samples were assayed in a blinded fashion. Detection of the Borrelia and IC amplification products was performed using the DELFIA (dissociation-enhanced lanthanide fluoroimmunoassay) time-resolved fluorescence hybridization assay (Perkin-Elmer Wallac, Gaithersburg, MD), as described elsewhere [7]. Probe sequences were as ...

BACKGROUND Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the agent of Lyme borreliosis, is mainly maintained in natural foci through the transmission cycles of competent tick vectors (Ixodes sp.) and a vertebrate reservoir. Specific rodents have been identified as the principal reservoir of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Europe. Borrelia miyamotoi is the only relapsing fever spirochete transmitted by th...

It has been proposed that Borrelia burgdorferi infection is present in ∼25% of children with autism spectrum disorders. In this study, antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi were assessed in autistic (n = 104), developmentally delayed (n = 24), and healthy control (n = 55) children. No seropositivity against Borrelia burgdorferi was detected in the children with and without autism. There was n...

In the last decades, several studies have reported pathogenic species of Borrelia related to those that cause Tick-borne Relapsing Fever (RF), but unexpectedly suggesting their transmission by hard ticks, known vectors of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (B. burgdorferi s.l.) species, rather than by soft ticks. This study was designed to update the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. species in tick...