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.
Kurtenbach
Klaus
K
Wellcome Trust, Dpt Infect Dis Epidemiol, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK. k.kurtenbach@ic.ac.uk
De Michelis
Simona
S
Sewell
Henna-Sisko
HS
Etti
Susanne
S
Schäfer
Stefanie M
SM
Holmes
Edward
E
Hails
Rosemary
R
Collares-Pereira
Margarida
M
Santos-Reis
Margarida
M
Hanincová
Klara
K
Labuda
Milan
M
Bormane
Antra
A
Donaghy
Michael
M
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