title: The Western progression of lyme disease: infectious and Nonclonal Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato populations in Grand Forks County, North Dakota.
abstract: Scant attention has been paid to Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, Ixodes scapularis, or reservoirs in eastern North Dakota despite the fact that it borders high-risk counties in Minnesota. Recent reports of B. burgdorferi and I. scapularis in North Dakota, however, prompted a more detailed examination. Spirochetes cultured from the hearts of five rodents trapped in Grand Forks County, ND, were identified as B. burgdorferi sensu lato through sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene, the 16S rRNA gene-ileT intergenic spacer region, flaB, ospA, ospC, and p66. OspC typing revealed the presence of groups A, B, E, F, L, and I. Two rodents were concurrently carrying multiple OspC types. Multilocus sequence typing suggested the eastern North Dakota strains are most closely related to those found in neighboring regions of the upper Midwest and Canada. BALB/c mice were infected with B. burgdorferi isolate M3 (OspC group B) by needle inoculation or tick bite. Tibiotarsal joints and ear pinnae were culture positive, and B. burgdorferi M3 was detected by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in the tibiotarsal joints, hearts, and ear pinnae of infected mice. Uninfected larval I. scapularis ticks were able to acquire B. burgdorferi M3 from infected mice; M3 was maintained in I. scapularis during the molt from larva to nymph; and further, M3 was transmitted from infected I. scapularis nymphs to naive mice, as evidenced by cultures and qPCR analyses. These results demonstrate that isolate M3 is capable of disseminated infection by both artificial and natural routes of infection. This study confirms the presence of unique (nonclonal) and infectious B. burgdorferi populations in eastern North Dakota.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Brandee L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Russart
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gaultney
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Angela M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Floden
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA.
authors.forename: Jefferson A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA catherine.brissette@med.und.edu.
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brissette
mesh_terms: D000825:Animal Structures / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015748:Borrelia burgdorferi Group / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006321:Heart / Q000382:microbiology; D018884:Ixodes; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009658:North Dakota / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012377:Rodentia / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013144:Spirochaetales; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S