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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2005, p. 1879-1884, Vol. 43, No. 4
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.4.1879-1884.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Borrelia burgdorferi ospC Heterogeneity among Human and Murine Isolates from a Defined Region of Northern Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania: Lack of Correlation with Invasive and Noninvasive Genotypes

Muneera Y. Alghaferi,^1, Jennifer M. Anderson,¹ Jinho Park,^2, Paul G. Auwaerter,³ John N. Aucott,³ Douglas E. Norris,¹ and J. Stephen Dumler^1,2*

W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205,¹ Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205,² Divisions of General Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Lutherville, Maryland 21093³

Received 3 September 2004/ Returned for modification 1 November 2004/ Accepted 2 December 2004

B. burgdorferi invasiveness correlates with ospC genotype. To test this hypothesis and whether identical genotypes infect humans and small mammals in specific sites, B. burgdorferi ospC heterogeneity was tested among isolates from northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. Six culture-positive patients allowed collection of small animals from their properties, and spirochetes from animals trapped within 300 yards of each patient's home were isolated. 3' ospC sequences were compared to reference sequences. Of the 7 human and 15 mouse DNA templates that produced reliable sequences, all clustered with references into only four and seven distinct clades, respectively. A human and a mouse isolate with the same ospC were seen in only one locality, and five of six sites contained two or more B. burgdorferi ospC clones. Four invasive patient isolates and six small mammal isolates clustered with "noninvasive" reference ospC genotypes. A high degree of ospC diversity exists among B. burgdorferi isolates in Maryland and Pennsylvania, even in narrowly defined geographic localities. Dissemination in mice and humans by noninvasive ospC types contradicts the ospC invasiveness hypothesis. Alternative genetic markers for B. burgdorferi disseminated disease should be investigated.

Present address: Box 73265, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Present address: Department of Veterinary Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Korea.

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