Search results for "Lyme disease microbiology"
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Morphological and biochemical features of Borrelia burgdorferi pleomorphic forms
2015
The spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is the causative agent of Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne infection in the northern hemisphere. There is a long-standing debate regarding the role of pleomorphic forms in Lyme disease pathogenesis, while very little is known about the characteristics of these morphological variants. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of B. burgdorferi pleomorphic formation in different culturing conditions at physiological temperature. Interestingly, human serum induced the bacterium to change its morphology to round bodies (RBs). In addition, biofilm-like colonies in suspension were found to be part of B. burgdorferi’s normal in vitr…
Identification of Three Clinically Relevant Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Genospecies by PCR-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis of 1…
2004
ABSTRACT We report the results of a study of the prevalences of three clinically relevant Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies ( Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii , and Borrelia garinii ) in 1,040 questing Ixodes ticks from all regions of Latvia, where Lyme borreliosis is endemic. The prevalences of Borrelia in Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus were 22.6 and 27.9%, respectively. Molecular typing of B. burgdorferi from infected ticks was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of PCR-amplified fragments of the 16S-23S ( rrs-rrlA ) rRNA intergenic spacer by using species-specific primers and subsequent sequencing. The dominant Borrel…
Structural characterization of the Borrelia burgdorferi outer surface protein BBA73 implicates dimerization as a functional mechanism.
2013
Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the causative agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted from infected Ixodes ticks to a mammalian host following a tick bite. Upon changing the host organism from an Ixodes tick to a warm-blooded mammal, the spirochete must adapt to very different conditions, which is achieved by altering the expression of several genes in response to a changing environment. Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to several outer surface proteins, including BBA73, that undergo dramatic upregulation during the transmission of B. burgdorferi from infected Ixodes ticks to mammals and that are thought to be important for the establishment and maintenance of the infection. T…