title: Genetic diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi and detection of B. bissettii-like DNA in serum of north-coastal California residents.
abstract: In North America, Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a tick-borne disease caused by infection with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. We studied the genetic diversity of LB spirochetes in north-coastal California residents. Spirochete DNA was detected in 23.7% (27/114) of the study subjects using a PCR protocol optimized for increased sensitivity in human sera. Californians were most commonly infected with B. burgdorferi ospC genotype A, a globally widespread spirochete associated with high virulence in LB patients. Sequence analysis of rrf-rrl and p66 loci in 11% (3/27) of the PCR-positive study subjects revealed evidence of infection with an organism closely related to B. bissettii. This spirochete, heretofore associated with LB only in Europe, is widely distributed among ticks and wildlife in North America. Further molecular testing of sera from residents in areas where LB is endemic is warranted to enhance our understanding of the geographic distribution and frequency of occurrence of B. bissettii-like infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA. yagirard@ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Yvette A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Girard
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fedorova
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lane
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001898:Borrelia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002140:California; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial