Adaptation of diverse lyme disease spirochetes in a natural rodent reservoir host.
We compared the relative reservoir competence of European wood mice for two genospecies of Lyme disease spirochetes by analyzing susceptibility, intrinsic incubation period, and degree and duration of infectivity. Borrelia afzelii, specializing in particular reservoir hosts, is better adapted to those hosts than is the more generalist genospecies B. burgdorferi sensu stricto.
Richter
Dania
D
Abteilung Parasitologie, Institut für Pathologie, Charité, Medizinische Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany. drichter@charite.de
Klug
Birte
B
Spielman
Andrew
A
Matuschka
Franz-Rainer
FR
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D005849:Gerbillinae / Q000382:microbiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D009115:Muridae / Q000382:microbiology*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology