Molecular characterization of Borrelia persica, the agent of tick borne relapsing fever in Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The identification of the Tick Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF) agent in Israel and the Palestinian Authority relies on the morphology and the association of Borrelia persica with its vector Ornithodoros tholozani. Molecular based data on B. persica are very scarce as the organism is still non-cultivable. In this study, we were able to sequence three complete 16S rRNA genes, 12 partial flaB genes, 18 partial glpQ genes, 16 rrs-ileT intergenic spacers (IGS) from nine ticks and ten human blood samples originating from the West Bank and Israel. In one sample we sequenced 7231 contiguous base pairs that covered completely the region from the 5'end of the 16S rRNA gene to the 5'end of the 23S rRNA gene comprising the whole 16S rRNA (rrs), and the following genes: Ala tRNA (alaT), Ile tRNA (ileT), adenylosuccinate lyase (purB), adenylosuccinate synthetase (purA), methylpurine-DNA glycosylase (mag), hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (hpt), an hydrolase (HAD superfamily) and a 135 bp 5' fragment of the 23S rRNA (rrlA) genes. Phylogenic sequence analysis defined all the Borrelia isolates from O. tholozani and from human TBRF cases in Israel and the West Bank as B. persica that clustered between the African and the New World TBRF species. Gene organization of the intergenic spacer between the 16S rRNA and the 23S rRNA was similar to that of other TBRF Borrelia species and different from the Lyme disease Borrelia species. Variants of B. persica were found among the different genes of the different isolates even in the same sampling area.
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
Gracia
G
Safdie
Iba Y
IY
Farrah
Reem
R
Yahia
Esther
E
Marva
Amos
A
Wilamowski
Samer S
SS
Sawalha
Naama
N
Wald
Judith
J
Schmiedel
Annette
A
Moter
Ulf B
UB
Göbel
Herve
H
Bercovier
Ziad
Z
Abdeen
Marc V
MV
Assous
Yolanta
Y
Fishman
D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D005408:Flagellin / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D007557:Israel; D008877:Middle East; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D026861:Ornithodoros / Q000382:microbiology*; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S / Q000235:genetics; D012061:Relapsing Fever / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012338:RNA, Ribosomal, 23S; D005408:Flagellin; C416532:flaB flagellin; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; C087921:glpQ protein, Bacteria