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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 09 1997, 2359-2364, Vol 35, No. 9
DE Norris, BJ Johnson, J Piesman, GO Maupin, JL Clark and WC Black 4th
In Colorado, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the etiologic agent of
Lyme disease, is maintained in an enzootic cycle between Ixodes spinipalpis
ticks and Neotoma mexicana rats (27). The frequencies of flagellin (fla),
66-kDa protein (p66), and outer surface protein A (ospA) alleles were
examined in 71 B. burgdorferi isolates from samples from Colorado.
Approximately two-thirds of these samples were isolates from I. spinipalpis
ticks that had been cultured in BSK-H medium prior to DNA extraction. The
remaining samples were from total DNA extracted directly from infected I.
spinipalpis ticks. A portion of each gene was amplified by PCR and screened
for genetic variability by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)
analysis. We identified three alleles in the fla gene, seven in the p66
gene, and seven in the ospA gene. Sequencing verified that the amplified
products originated from B. burgdorferi template DNA and indicated 100%
sensitivity and specificity of the SSCP analysis. The frequencies of the
p66 and ospA alleles were significantly different between cultured and
uncultured spirochetes. The number of three-locus genotypes and the genetic
diversity of alleles at all loci were consistently lower in cultured
spirochetes, suggesting that culturing of B. burgdorferi in BSK-H medium
may select for specific genotypes.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Culturing selects for specific genotypes of Borrelia burgdorferi in an enzootic cycle in Colorado
Department of Microbiology, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins 80523, USA.
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