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
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
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
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
genetic heterogeneity of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the southern united states based on restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis.	fifty-six strains of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, isolated from ticks and vertebrate animals in missouri, south carolina, georgia, florida, and texas, were identified and characterized by pcr-restriction fragment length polymorphism (rflp) analysis of rrf (5s)-rrl (23s) intergenic spacer amplicons. a total of 241 to 258 bp of intergenic spacers between tandemly duplicated rrf (5s) and rrl (23s) was amplified by pcr. msei and drai restriction fragment polymorphisms were used to analyze these ...	2001	11427560
enzootic transmission of babesia divergens among cottontail rabbits on nantucket island, massachusetts.	specific ticks seem to locally serve as vector for characteristic microbial assemblages (guilds) comprising spirochetes, piroplasms, ehrlichiae, and arboviruses. borrelia andersoni and anaplasma phagocytophilum are intensely transmitted between cottontail rabbits. to test the hypothesis that a piroplasm may also be maintained in rabbits, we sampled these hosts from nantucket island, massachusetts and tested their blood and tissues by a polymerase chain reaction for evidence of infection. surpris ...	2003	14695079
molecular characterization of borrelia isolates from ticks and mammals from the southern united states.	fifty borrelia isolates from ticks and rodents from several geographic regions of the southern united states were analyzed by genomic macrorestriction analysis. significant genetic diversity was observed among them. these isolates segregated into 4 major clusters and 10 subclusters, which are correlated with the genospecies distribution. nineteen pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) types were recognized among the isolates. the genospecies borrelia andersonii and borrelia bissettii consisted ...	2004	15715220
molecular identification and analysis of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in lizards in the southeastern united states.	lyme borreliosis (lb) group spirochetes, collectively known as borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, are distributed worldwide. wild rodents are acknowledged as the most important reservoir hosts. ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of b. burgdorferi sensu lato in the eastern united states, and in the southeastern united states, the larvae and nymphs mostly parasitize certain species of lizards. the primary aim of the present study was to determine whether wild lizards in the southeastern united ...	2005	15870353
three multiplex assays for detection of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato in field-collected ixodes nymphs in north america.	two hundred fifty new jersey field-collected ixodes scapularis say ticks and 17 colorado ixodes spinipalpis hadwen & nuttall ticks were tested using three separate multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) assays. one assay targets the rrs-rrla igs region of borrelia spp. to detect borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and borrelia miyamotoi s.l. the second assay targets the ospa region of b. burgdorferi s.l. to detect b. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), borrelia bissettii, and borre ...	2005	16465748
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
associations of passerine birds, rabbits, and ticks with borrelia miyamotoi and borrelia andersonii in michigan, u.s.a.	wild birds contribute to maintenance and dissemination of vectors and microbes, including those that impact human, domestic animal, and wildlife health. here we elucidate roles of wild passerine birds, eastern cottontail rabbits (sylvilagus floridanus), and ixodes dentatus ticks in enzootic cycles of two spirochetes, borrelia miyamotoi and b. andersonii in a region of michigan where the zoonotic pathogen b. burgdorferi co-circulates.	2012	23057837
geographical and genospecies distribution of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato dna detected in humans in the usa.	the present study investigated the cause of illness in human patients primarily in the southern usa with suspected lyme disease based on erythema migrans-like skin lesions and/or symptoms consistent with early localized or late disseminated lyme borreliosis. the study also included some patients from other states throughout the usa. several pcr assays specific for either members of the genus borrelia or only for lyme group borrelia spp. (borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato), and dna sequence analysi ...	2014	24568883
detection of borrelia genomospecies 2 in ixodes spinipalpis ticks collected from a rabbit in canada.	lyme disease is a serious health problem, with many patients requiring in-depth clinical assessment and extended treatment. in the present study, we provide the first records of the western blacklegged tick, ixodes pacificus , and ixodes spinipalpis parasitizing eastern cottontails, sylvilagus floridanus . we also documented a triple co-infestation of 3 tick species (ixodes angustus, i. pacificus , i. spinipalpis) feeding on an eastern cottontail. notably, we discovered a unique member of the ly ...	2017	27835071