title: DNA analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi NCH-1, the first northcentral U.S. human Lyme disease isolate.
abstract: The DNA of the first northcentral United States human Lyme disease isolate, Borrellia burgdorferi NCH-1, was characterized and compared with the DNAs of nine other B. burgdorferi isolates. Strain NCH-1 was isolated in August 1989 from a human skin biopsy specimen. DNA was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and restriction endonuclease analysis. Contour-clamped homogeneous electric field pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of in situ-lysed cells was performed to compare the plasmid profiles of the various isolates. The plasmid profile of isolate NCH-1, which included five plasmids of approximately 69, 42, 38, 32, and 23 kb, could be distinguished from those of the other isolates examined. The DNA profile of NCH-1 was most similar to those of strain 297 (human cerebrospinal fluid isolate, Connecticut) and strain PAL (human erythema migrans isolate, New York) and most dissimilar from those of strain P/Gau (human erythema migrans isolate, Germany) and strain IPF (Ixodes persulcatus tick isolate, Japan). These results indicate that genetic diversity exists among B. burgdorferi strains isolated from different geographical areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Kodner
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology*; D010957:Plasmids; D014922:Wisconsin
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial