Biological aspects of Lyme disease spirochetes: unique bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi species group.
BACKGROUND
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a group of at least twelve closely related species some of which are responsible for Lyme disease, the most frequent zoonosis in Europe and the USA. Many of the biological features of Borrelia are unique in prokaryotes and very interesting not only from the medical viewpoint but also from the view of molecular biology.


METHODS
Relevant recent articles were searched using PubMed and Google search tools.


CONCLUSIONS
This is a review of the biological, genetic and physiological features of the spirochete species group, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In spite of a lot of recent articles focused on B. burgdorferi sensu lato, many features of Borrelia biology remain obscure. It is one of the main reasons for persisting problems with prevention, diagnosis and therapy of Lyme disease. The aim of the review is to summarize ongoing current knowledge into a lucid and comprehensible form.
Krupka
Michal
M
Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. majkl.krupka@centrum.cz
Raska
Milan
M
Belakova
Jana
J
Horynova
Milada
M
Novotny
Radko
R
Weigl
Evzen
E
D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission