Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 1998, p. 269-272, Vol. 36, No. 1
0095-1137/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Microbial Pathogenesis Unit, Catholic University of Louvain Medical School, International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium
Received 30 April 1997/Returned for modification 12 June 1997/Accepted 19 September 1997
Species-specific sequences were shown to be carried by plasmids of the three main species of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato involved in Lyme disease. Libraries of the 16-, 33-, and 25-kb plasmids of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia afzelii, respectively, were then built and used to isolate species-specific sequences. After sequencing of the cloned inserts, three sets of primers were designed. They were shown to determine species-specific PCR amplification products. The sensitivities of the PCR assay with these primers were 100 spirochetes for B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and 1,000 spirochetes for B. garinii and B. afzelii. The usefulness of these primers for the identification of species in biological samples (tick, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid samples) was ascertained.
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