Use of quantitative PCR to measure density of Borrelia burgdorferi in the midgut and salivary glands of feeding tick vectors.
Quantitative real-time PCR was used to assay spirochetes in feeding ticks. Spirochetes in tick midguts increased sixfold, from 998 per tick before attachment to 5,884 at 48 h of attachment. Spirochetes in tick salivary glands increased >17-fold, from 1.2 per salivary gland pair before feeding to 20.8 at 72 h postattachment. The period of the most rapid increase in the number of spirochetes in the salivary glands occurred from 48 to 60 h postattachment; this time period coincides with the maximal increase in transmission risk during nymphal tick feeding.
Piesman
J
J
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Public Health Service, Fort Collins, Colorado 80522, USA. JPiesman@cdc.gov
Schneider
B S
BS
Zeidner
N S
NS
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D051379:Mice; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000382:microbiology
D004269:DNA, Bacterial