JCM Accepts, published online ahead of print on 19 November 2008

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J. Clin. Microbiol. doi:10.1128/JCM.01183-08
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Borrelia carolinensis sp.nov. - a new (14^th) member of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex from the southeastern United States

Nataliia Rudenko^*, Maryna Golovchenko, Libor Grubhoffer, and James H. Oliver Jr.

Biology Centre, Institute of Parasitology AS CR, and Faculty of Sciences University of South Bohemia, eské Budjovice, 37005, Czech Republic; Georgia Southern University, James H. Oliver, Jr. Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Statesboro, GA, 30460-8056, USA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: natasha{at}paru.cas.cz.

Approximately 118 Borrelia isolates were cultured from a variety of rodents, birds and ticks collected in the southern USA. In addition to a highly diverse group of Borrelia bissettii strains, and a homogenous group of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains, a group of 16 isolates with unusual characteristics was found. Isolates were cultured from ear biopsies of the rodents Peromyscus gossypinus and Neotoma floridana trapped at 5 localities in South Carolina. Multilocus sequence analysis of rrf-rrl intergenic spacer, 16S rRNA, flagellin, ospA and p66 genes were used to clarify the taxonomic status of the new group of B. burgdorferi sensu lato isolates. Thirteen species of B. burgdorferi sensu lato complex were used as controls. Unique RFLP patterns of rrf-rrl intergenic spacer region and flagellin gene were recognized. Unique signature nucleotides were also found in the 16S rRNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the 16 new isolates cluster together but separately from the other species in the B. burgdorferi sensu lato complex. Our data strongly support the recognition of the 16 isolates as a new B. burgdorferi sensu lato species. We propose to name this genospecies Borrelia carolinensis with respect to the place of its currently known geographic location.

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