title: A nested polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato based on a multiple sequence analysis of the hbb gene.
abstract: A highly sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction method was designed for the detection of a wide spectrum of strains from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. This technique allows the detection of as little as 3 fg of total genomic DNA extracted and purified from pure cultures of the organism, this amount corresponds to less than 10 organisms. Two sets of primers homologous to conserved spots in the coding region of the hbb gene, encoding a conserved histone-like protein, were constructed. These were based on a multiple sequence alignment of 39 strains representing all the genomic groups described in B. burgdorferi sensu lato.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Cantonale Batteriosierologico, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Valsangiacomo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Balmelli
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Piffaretti
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial