Publications

identification of novel insertion elements, restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns, and discontinuous 23s rrna in lyme disease spirochetes: phylogenetic analyses of rrna genes and their intergenic spacers in borrelia japonica sp. nov. and genomic group 21038 (borrelia andersonii sp. nov.) isolates.	borrelia spp. associated with lyme disease possess an rrna gene organization consisting of a single 16s rrna gene followed by a spacer of several kilobases and a tandem repeat of a 23s (rrl)-5s (rrf) rrna gene cluster. the restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) patterns for these genes have been widely used to classify lyme disease spirochete isolates. we analyzed the rrna gene organization and sequences for two ixodes ovatus isolates from japan (ika2 and ho14) and two group 21038 isola ...	1995	7494041
identification of spirochetes isolated from wild rodents in japan as borrelia japonica.	spirochetes isolated from three species of wild mice, apodemus speciosus, apodemus argenteus, and eothenomys smithi, which were caught on honshu, japan, were characterized on the bases of protein profiles, reactivities with monoclonal antibodies (mabs), and dna homology values. all the isolates reacted with mab o1441b, which is specific for borrelia japonica, but not with mab p62, which is specific for borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia garinii, and borrelia afzelii. the dna relatednes ...	1995	7615765
[the survey of prevalence of lyme borreliosis in forestry workers in saitama prefecture].	forestry workers in saitama prefecture are in high occupational risk to lyme borreliosis transmitted by ticks. we surveyed the incidence of tick bites and the prevalence of antibodies against borrelia burgdorferi in 80 forestry workers. elisa with the antigen from b. burgdorferi sensu stricto b31 as well as borrelia garinii hp3 and borrelia japonica ho14 isolated in japan was used for the detection of antibodies. antibody-positive cases against b31, hp3 and ho14 was 3.8, 23.8 and 13.8%, respecti ...	1995	7745287
linear chromosomes of lyme disease agent spirochetes: genetic diversity and conservation of gene order.	we have constructed physical and genetic maps of the chromosomes of 21 lyme disease agent spirochetes from geographically diverse locations. all have linear chromosomes whose lengths range from 935 to 955 kbp, and all contain multiple linear plasmids in the 16- to 175-kbp size range. the locations of 11 gene clusters on the chromosomes of these different isolates are indistinguishable at the resolution achieved in this study, indicating that the members of this related group of species have high ...	1995	7751287
borrelia japonica in nature: genotypic identification of spirochetes isolated from japanese small mammals.	spirochetes were isolated from earlobe tissues of shrews (sorex unguiculatus, sorex caecutiens, and crocidura dsienezumi), voles (clethrionomys rufocanus), and mice (apodemus argenteus and apodemus speciosus) captured in various localities in japan. the isolates were identified as borrelia japonica by rrna gene restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. the data suggest that these small mammals are candidates of reservoir hosts for b. japonica.	1994	7869959
genomic analysis of borrelia japonica sp. nov. isolated from ixodes ovatus in japan.	genetic characteristics of 12 borrelia isolates from the tick, ixodes ovatus, i. persulcatus, and the rodent, apodemus speciosus ainu, in japan were compared to members of the three genospecies of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato; b. burgdorferi sensu stricto, b. garinii and group vs461. the methods used in this study were the quantitative microplate dna hybridization assay and restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analyses of the flagellin structural genes and the 16s rrna genes. the s ...	1993	7905183
characterization of monoclonal antibodies for identification of borrelia japonica, isolates from ixodes ovatus.	monoclonal antibodies for identification of borrelia japonica isolated from tick, ixodes ovatus and long-tailed shrew, sorex unguiculatus in japan and borrelia related to lyme disease (borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) were prepared and characterized. all isolates belonging to b. japonica and isolates from i. dentatus and cottontail rabbit in north america reacted with mab o1441b against flagellin which was prepared from immunized mice with strain ho14, type strain of b. japonica, but isolates fr ...	1994	7935066
diversity of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato evidenced by restriction fragment length polymorphism of rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer amplicons.	the organization of the ribosomal genes is unique in borrelia burgdorferi in that the rrl (23s) and rrf (5s) genes are tandemly duplicated. we took advantage of this uniqueness to assess the restriction polymorphism of pcr products obtained with primers at the 3' end of the first rrf gene and at the 5' end of the second rrl gene. an amplicon that was 226 to 266 bp long was generated from 99 to 100 b. burgdorferi sensu lato strains. the nuclease msei restriction polymorphism of the amplicons prov ...	1994	7981102
prevalence of antibodies to borrelia spirochetes among wild small rodents in central and western japan.	field rodents serve as a reservoir for lyme disease spirochetes. to evaluate the antibody responses of rodents against different borrelia species in relation to fauna of vector ticks feeding on them, we examined 272 sera of wild rodents, apodemus speciosus, a. argenteus, and eothenomys smithii, obtained in 27 locations in central and western japan from 1981 to 1994. as to prevalences by rodent species using immunoperoxidase test, a. speciosus, a. argenteus and e. smithii showed 29.4%, 11.6% and ...	1995	8551974
analysis of the genetic polymorphism of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato by multilocus enzyme electrophoresis.	in recent years, borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato has been subdivided into three species, borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, borrelia garinii, and borrelia afzelii, and a new species restricted to japan, borrelia japonica, has been isolated from ixodes ovatus. in addition, members of several new genomic groups have been found in america and in europe, suggesting that there are additional genospecies. in order to study the diversity of b. burgdorferi sensu lato, we analyzed 54 isolates, cultured ...	1996	8573491
[a case of lyme borreliosis which was suspected to be caused by borrelia japonica infection in shizuoka, japan].	we report a case of lyme borreliosis (lyme disease) found in shizuoka city, japan which was suspected to be caused by borrelia japonica infection. a 8-year-old female was bitten on her head by a tick at a camping ground, near tamagawa, shizuoka. the tick was removed by the patient and was discarded before species identification. after one week, lymph node swelling with tenderness developed on her left neck. she consulted a local pediatrician and was suspected to have upper respiratory infection. ...	1996	8621970
t cell response to borrelia garinii, borrelia afzelii, and borrelia japonica in various congenic mouse strains.	the infectivity and t cell response to borrelia garinii sika2, borrelia afzelii bfox, and borrelia japonica 0612, the organisms that cause lyme disease in japan, were examined in various inbred and congenic strains of mice. infectivity differed among the species: b. garinii sika2 and b. afzelii bfox were each able to infect 90% to 100% of c3h/he mice; b. japonica 0612 was able to infect only 20% of c3h/he mice. the pattern of infectivity to various inbred and congenic strains of mice may influen ...	1995	8789051
phylogenetic analysis of borrelia species based on flagellin gene sequences and its application for molecular typing of lyme disease borreliae.	we determined almost complete flagellin gene sequences of various borrelia species and aligned them with previously published sequences. a neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis showed that the genus borrelia was divided into the following three major clusters: new world relapsing fever borreliae (borrelia turicatae, borrelia parkeri, and borrelia hermsii), old world relapsing fever borreliae (borrelia crocidurae, borrelia duttonii, and borrelia hispanica), and lyme disease borreliae (borrelia b ...	1996	8863416
a phylogenetic analysis of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato based on sequence information from the hbb gene, coding for a histone-like protein.	we describe a phylogenetic investigation of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of lyme disease, based on a dna sequence analysis of the hbb gene, which encodes protein hbb, a member of the family of histone-like proteins. because of their intimate contact with the dna molecule, these proteins are believed to be fairly conserved through evolution. in this study we proved that the hbb gene is suitable for phylogenetic inference in the genus borrelia. the hbb gene, which is 327 bp ...	1997	8995795
location and ultrastructure of borrelia japonica in naturally infected ixodes ovatus and small mammals.	the internal organs of ixodes ovatus and the ears of wild rodents (apodemus speciosus, eothenomys smithii) and an insectivore (crocidura dsinezumi) were cultured to isolate borreliae; positive samples were examined for the distribution and dissemination of spirochetes in the host tissues using electron microscopy. seven isolates were derived from the unfed ticks and the three species of mammals. these isolates were identified as borrelia japonica judging from the outer surface protein profile us ...	1997	9087963
[present status of lyme borreliosis and characterization of lyme disease borrelia isolated in japan].	lyme disease is a multisystemic disorder caused by infection with borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato which is carried by ticks of the ixodes ricinus complex. the agent was discovered in 1982 in north america and the disease is recognized as an emerging infectious diseases in north america and europe. japanese borrelia isolates were characterized by genetic and immunologic analysis. isolates from ixodes ovatus were found to be unique by dna/dna hybridization analysis, restriction fragment length pol ...	1997	9248350
homogeneity of borrelia japonica and heterogeneity of borrelia afzelii and 'borrelia tanukii' isolated in japan, determined from ospc gene sequences.	borrelia afzelii, b. japonica, and 'b. tanukii' isolated from various sources and geographical origins in japan were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis and sequencing analysis of the outer surface protein c (ospc) amplicon. b. afzelii and 'b. tanukii' generated variable rflp patterns and differences in ospc gene sequence were confirmed. in contrast, 26 isolates of b. japonica generated one ospc rflp type, and sequence similarity between b. japonica ranged f ...	1997	9271854
genetic and phenotypic analysis of borrelia valaisiana sp. nov. (borrelia genomic groups vs116 and m19).	to clarify the taxonomic status of two recently described borrelia genomic groups, groups vs116 and m19, three group vs116 strains and eight group m19 strains isolated from ixodes ricinus ticks in switzerland, the netherlands, and the united kingdom were characterized. pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of the 5s-23s intergenic spacer amplicon, rrna gene restriction analysis, 16s rrna gene sequence analysis, randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) fingerprinting, sodi ...	1997	9336888
molecular typing of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato by randomly amplified polymorphic dna fingerprinting analysis.	to study whether pathogenic clusters of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato strains occur, we typed 136 isolates, cultured from specimens from patients (n = 49) with various clinical entities and from ticks (n = 83) or dogs (n = 4) from different geographic regions, by randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) fingerprinting with four arbitrary primers. the rapd patterns were reproducible up to the 95% similarity level as shown in duplicate experiments. in these experiments the purified dnas prepare ...	1998	9508310
infectivity and arthritis induction of borrelia japonica on scid mice and immune competent mice: possible role of galactosylceramide binding activity on initiation of infection.	we investigated the relationship between the binding activity to galactosylceramide (galcer) and the arthritis induction activity of borrelia japonica. the b. japonica strains maintained the ability to induce arthritis in inbred c3h/hen and immunodeficient scid mice, but the ability was lower than that of borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto virulent strain 297. histopathological changes were restricted to the joints, and a marked effusion of polymorphonuclear neutrophils into the joint space was ...	1998	9570282
lyme disease borrelia species in northeastern china resemble those isolated from far eastern russia and japan.	fifty-nine borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato culture isolates collected from northeastern china were characterized by 5s-23s rrna intergenic spacer restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis and reactivity with monoclonal antibodies (mabs). among 59 culture isolates, 30 (50.8%) were borrelia garinii and 17 (28.8%) were borrelia afzelii, 2 were mixtures composed of b. garinii with rflp pattern b and b. garinii with pattern c, and 9 were mixtures composed of b. garinii and b. afzelii. ...	1998	9647853
molecular typing of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato: taxonomic, epidemiological, and clinical implications.	borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the spirochete that causes human lyme borreliosis (lb), is a genetically and phenotypically divergent species. in the past several years, various molecular approaches have been developed and used to determine the phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity within the lb-related spirochetes and their potential association with distinct clinical syndromes. these methods include serotyping, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, dna-dna reassociation analysis, rrna gene restri ...	1999	10515907
terrestrial distribution of the lyme borreliosis agent borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in east asia.	lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent tick-borne zoonosis and an important emerging infection in europe, north america, and far eastern countries. the geographical distribution of borrelia spp. and the relationship between borrelia spp. and tick spp. in east asian countries have been studied. in northern asian countries, ixodes persulcatus carries eurasian-type borrelia garinii (20047 type), borrelia afzelii, and asian-type b. garinii (variant nt29), whereas borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto h ...	2004	15623946
the expanding lyme borrelia complex--clinical significance of genomic species?	ten years after the discovery of spirochaetes as agents of lyme disease in 1982 in the usa, three genomic species had diverged from the phenotypically heterogeneous strains of borrelia burgdorferi isolated in north america and europe: borrelia afzelii, b. burgdorferi sensu stricto (further b. burgdorferi), and borrelia garinii. whereas b. burgdorferi remained the only human pathogen in north america, all three species are aetiological agents of lyme borreliosis in europe. another seven genospeci ...	2011	21414082