The key roles of selection and migration in the ecology of Lyme borreliosis.
The roles of selection and migration of B. burgdorferi s. l. were studied. Questing adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected across Europe and analysed for infection with B. burgdorferi s. l. Analysis of the genospecies in individual ticks showed that B. garinii and B. valaisiana segregate from B. afzelii. Segregation of bird- and rodent-associated Borrelia genotypes can be explained by the operation of complement-mediated selection in the midgut of the feeding tick. Phylogenetic analyses of B. burgdorferi s. l. indicate high rates of migration for bird-associated genotypes. Altogether, it is emerging that the ecology of Lyme borreliosis is largely host-driven and that selection and migration are major forces shaping the population structures of B. burgdorferi s. l.
Wellcome Trust, Dpt Infect Dis Epidemiol, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK. k.kurtenbach@ic.ac.uk
Klaus
K
Kurtenbach
Simona
S
De Michelis
Henna-Sisko
HS
Sewell
Susanne
S
Etti
Stefanie M
SM
Schäfer
Edward
E
Holmes
Rosemary
R
Hails
Margarida
M
Collares-Pereira
Margarida
M
Santos-Reis
Klara
K
Hanincová
Milan
M
Labuda
Antra
A
Bormane
Michael
M
Donaghy
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001717:Birds; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D005838:Genotype; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D010802:Phylogeny; D012377:Rodentia