Publications

borrelia tanukii sp. nov. and borrelia turdae sp. nov. found from ixodid ticks in japan: rapid species identification by 16s rrna gene-targeted pcr analysis.	based on the results of rflp-ribotyping, whole dna/dna hybridization and phylogenetic analysis of the 16s rrna gene, we previously defined two genomic groups of spirochetes closely related to borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato: group hk501 for strains isolated from ixodes tanuki ticks and group ya501 for strains isolated from ixodes turdus ticks. in this report, we propose that group hk501 should be classified as borrelia tanukii sp. nov. and group ya501 as borrelia turdae sp. nov. the alignment of ...	1996	8985944
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
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
transmission dynamics of borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in a bird tick community.	we examined the borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato circulation in a tick community consisting of three species (ixodes ricinus, i. frontalis, i. arboricola) with contrasting ecologies, but sharing two european songbird hosts (parus major and cyanistes caeruleus). parus major had the highest infestation rates, primarily due to larger numbers of i. ricinus, and probably because of their greater low-level foraging. the prevalence of borrelia in feeding ticks did not significantly differ between the tw ...	2012	23279105
molecular detection of anaplasma, bartonella, and borrelia species in ticks collected from migratory birds from hong-do island, republic of korea.	bird migration is a recurring annual and seasonal event undertaken by more than 100 species of birds in the southeast asian and northeast palearctic regions that pass through or remain for short periods from april to may and september to november at hong-do island, republic of korea (rok). a total of 212 ticks (40 haemaphysalis flava, 12 h. longicornis, 146 ixodes turdus, 13 i. nipponensis, and 1 i. ornithophila) were collected from 65/2,161 (3.0%) migratory birds consisting of 21 species that w ...	2013	23428091
blackbirds turdus merula as competent reservoirs for borrelia turdi and borrelia valaisiana in portugal: evidence from a xenodiagnostic experiment.	to confirm that thrushes, such as blackbirds turdus merula, play a role as reservoir for some borrelia genospecies, we performed a xenodiagnostic experiment with blackbirds captured in a mixed wood located in western portugal where borrelia turdi, an uncommon genospecies in europe, was the most prevalent genospecies associated with birds. two out of five birds harboured b. turdi infected ixodes frontalis at the time of capture. four out of five birds transmitted spirochaetes to ixodes ricinus xe ...	2013	23864576
ticks on passerines from the archipelago of the azores as hosts of borreliae and rickettsiae.	we examined the presence of borreliae and rickettsiae bacteria in ticks from wild passerine birds on three islands of the archipelago of the azores, the westernmost region of palearctic. a total of 266 birds belonging to eight species from seven families were examined on são miguel, santa maria and graciosa islands in 2013. ticks collected from these birds consisted of 55 ixodes frontalis (22 larvae, 32 nymphs, 1 adult female) and 16 haemaphysalis punctata nymphs. turdus merula and erithacus rub ...	2015	26013915
patterns of tick infestation and their borrelia burgdorferi s.l. infection in wild birds in portugal.	wild birds may act as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens and may be mechanical carriers of pathogen infected vector ticks through long distances during migration. the aim of this study was to assess tick infestation patterns in birds in portugal and the prevalence of tick infection by borrelia burgdorferi s.l. using pcr techniques. seven tick species were collected from birds including haemaphysalis punctata, hyalomma spp., ixodes acuminatus, ixodes arboricola, ixodes frontalis, ixodes ricinus an ...	2015	26159798
characterization through multilocus sequence analysis of borrelia turdi isolates from portugal.	borrelia turdi is a spirochete from the borrelia burgdorferi complex, first reported in japan, that has been increasingly detected in europe. this genospecies is mostly associated with avian hosts and their ornithophilic ticks such as ixodes frontalis. in this study, we isolated b. turdi from five i. frontalis feeding on turdus merula, turdus philomelos, parus major and troglodytes troglodytes, and one ixodes ricinus feeding on a t. merula in portugal. these isolates were genetically characteris ...	2016	26311126
tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from birds in taiwan.	a variety of human diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors, including ticks, are emerging around the globe. birds are known to be hosts of ticks and can disperse exotic ticks and tick-borne pathogens. in taiwan, previous studies have focused predominantly on mammals, leaving the role of birds in the maintenance of ticks and dissemination of tick-borne pathogens undetermined.	2017	29178908
bridging of cryptic borrelia cycles in european songbirds.	the principal european vector for borrelia burgdorferi s.l., the causative agents of lyme disease, is the host-generalist tick ixodes ricinus. almost all terrestrial host-specialist ticks have been supposed not to contribute to the terrestrial borrelia transmission cycles. through an experiment with blackbirds, we show successful transmission by the widespread i. frontalis, an abundant bird-specialized tick that infests a broad range of songbirds. in the first phase of the experiment, we obtaine ...	2017	28152581
presence of borrelia turdi and borrelia valaisiana (spirochaetales: spirochaetaceae) in ticks removed from birds in the north of spain, 2009-2011.	the genus borrelia includes species responsible for severe human diseases such as lyme disease. birds are involved in their epidemiology as dispersers of infected ticks (ixodida: ixodidae) and as reservoirs or amplifiers of the bacterium. herein, the presence of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) johnson, schmid, hyde, steigerwalt & brenner in 336 ticks collected from birds in the north of spain from 2009 to 2011 was investigated. nucleic acid extracts from 174 ixodes frontalis (panzer), 108 ...	2017	28082654