Detection of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, by using the polymerase chain reaction and a nonradioisotopic gene probe.
A 419-bp region of the flagellin gene sequence of Borrelia burgdorferi was used as a target for the polymerase chain reaction. With a nonradioactively labeled gene-specific probe, sensitivity to as few as 1 to 10 spirochetes was observed. The targeted gene fragment was conserved in the American and European strains of B. burgdorferi tested and among several other pathogenic borreliae.
Wise
D J
DJ
Biology Department, State University of New York College, Fredonia 14063.
Weaver
T L
TL
D001483:Base Sequence; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005408:Flagellin / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005408:Flagellin