title: Characterization of a novel relapsing fever spirochete in the midgut, coxal fluid, and salivary glands of the bat tick Carios kelleyi.
abstract: Bat ticks, Carios kelleyi, from Iowa were examined for the presence of relapsing fever group borreliae. A novel spirochete was characterized by DNA sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction amplicons for the 16S rRNA, flaB, and glpQ genes in either triturated tick pools or single ticks. All loci and the concatenated DNA sequence of 3,289 bases identified the Carios bacterium as a relapsing fever spirochete most closely related to, but distinct from, Borrelia turicatae. Spirochetes reactive with a Borrelia-specific monoclonal antibody were observed microscopically in the coxal fluid and salivary glands from one tick. These data confirm the presence of a novel species of relapsing fever spirochete in bat ticks and the potential for new enzootic foci for endemic relapsing fever that warrants further investigation. The name Borrelia johnsonii is proposed for this novel spirochete in honor of Dr. Russell C. Johnson.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA. tschwan@niaid.nih.gov
authors.forename: Tom G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Schwan
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Raffel
authors.forename: Merry E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schrumpf
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Piesman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002685:Chiroptera / Q000382:microbiology; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D005260:Female; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007484:Iowa; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000382:microbiology*; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000032:analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000032:analysis; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000382:microbiology; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; C087921:glpQ protein, Bacteria