Land use intensity has an impact on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence and genodiversity in ticks from Central Germany.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ticks are important vectors of zoonotic pathogens, with Ixodes ricinus being the most abundant and main vector in Europe of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. Both vector and reservoir hosts are dependent on habitat structure, which is anthropogenically influenced by land use intensity. This study aimed to analyse the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. and their genodiversity in ticks along a land use gradient in grassland and forest in Central Germany.

Methods

Ticks were collected from 25 grassland and 25 forest sites by using the flagging method and tested for Borrelia  spp. using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Positive samples were further analysed by using multi-locus sequence typing to identify the exact B. b

SUBMITTER: Lassen SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12449800 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature