title: Characterization of Borrelia lusitaniae isolates collected in Tunisia and Morocco.
abstract: Borrelia lusitaniae is a species within the complex Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and is infrequently isolated in Europe. In contrast, this species is by far the most predominant in North Africa and in Portugal. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity, at several loci, of a large population of isolates from free-living Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Tunisia and Morocco. We found a moderate diversity of the whole genome by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis as well as in the ospA gene sequences, compared to a high level of strain homogeneity in the small noncoding ribosomal spacer. In contrast, a high diversity of this locus has been previously reported for Portuguese isolates. We hypothesize that B. lusitaniae strains isolated in North Africa constitute a clone of Portuguese origin.
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Hend
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Younsi
authors.forename: M'Hammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarih
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jouda
authors.forename: Edmond
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Godfroid
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gern
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bouattour
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baranton
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Postic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000235:genetics; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009018:Morocco; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D008074:Lipoproteins; C072045:OspA protein; C079616:OspC protein