RESUMEN
Comparative analysis of ospC genes from 127 Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains collected in European and North American regions where Lyme disease is endemic and where it is not endemic revealed a close relatedness of geographically distinct populations. ospC alleles A, B, and L were detected on both continents in vectors and hosts, including humans. Six ospC alleles, A, B, L, Q, R, and V, were prevalent in Europe; 4 of them were detected in samples of human origin. Ten ospC alleles, A, B, D, E3, F, G, H, H3, I3, and M, were identified in the far-western United States. Four ospC alleles, B, G, H, and L, were abundant in the southeastern United States. Here we present the first expanded analysis of ospC alleles of B. burgdorferi strains from the southeastern United States with respect to their relatedness to strains from other North American and European localities. We demonstrate that ospC genotypes commonly associated with human Lyme disease in European and North American regions where the disease is endemic were detected in B. burgdorferi strains isolated from the non-human-biting tick Ixodes affinis and rodent hosts in the southeastern United States. We discovered that some ospC alleles previously known only from Europe are widely distributed in the southeastern United States, a finding that confirms the hypothesis of transoceanic migration of Borrelia species.
Asunto(s)
Alelos , Antígenos Bacterianos/genética , Proteínas de la Membrana Bacteriana Externa/genética , Borrelia burgdorferi/genética , Ixodes/microbiología , Roedores/microbiología , Animales , Borrelia burgdorferi/aislamiento & purificación , ADN Bacteriano/química , ADN Bacteriano/genética , Europa (Continente) , Variación Genética , Genotipo , Humanos , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , América del Norte , Análisis de Secuencia de ADNRESUMEN
Until recently, three spirochete genospecies were considered to be the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Europe: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii. However, the DNA of Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia lusitaniae, Borrelia spielmanii and Borrelia bissettii has already been detected in samples of human origin, or the spirochetes were isolated from the patients with symptoms of LB. Molecular analysis of 12 selected serum samples collected in the regional hospital confirmed the presence of B. bissettii DNA in cases of single and multiple infection in patients with symptomatic borreliosis or chronic borrelial infection. The presence of B. bissettii as a single strain in patients provides strong support of the fact that B. bissettii might be a causative agent of the disease. After the first isolation of B. bissettii from the samples of human origin in Slovenia, following the detection of this species in cardiac valve tissue of the patient with endocarditis and aortic valve stenosis in the Czech Republic, here we present additional molecular data supporting the involvement of B. bissettii in LB in Europe.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Borrelia/diagnóstico , Borrelia/aislamiento & purificación , ADN Bacteriano/sangre , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa/métodos , Suero/microbiología , Borrelia/genética , República Checa , ADN Bacteriano/química , ADN Bacteriano/genética , ADN Ribosómico/química , ADN Ribosómico/genética , Genes de ARNr , Humanos , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Filogenia , ARN Bacteriano/genética , ARN Ribosómico 16S/genética , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Homología de Secuencia de Ácido NucleicoRESUMEN
Molecular analysis of a clinical sample confirmed the presence of Borrelia bissettii DNA in cardiac valve tissue from a patient with endocarditis and aortic valve stenosis. This evidence strongly supports the involvement of B. bissettii in Lyme disease in Europe.
