Multilocus sequence typing of Borrelia burgdorferi suggests existence of lineages with differential pathogenic properties in humans.

ABSTRACT: The clinical manifestations of Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, vary considerably in different patients, possibly due to infection by strains with varying pathogenicity. Both rRNA intergenic spacer and ospC typing methods have proven to be useful tools for categorizing B. burgdorferi strains that vary in their tendency to disseminate in humans. Neither method, however, is suitable for inferring intraspecific relationships among strains that are important for understanding the evolution of pathogenicity and the geographic spread of disease. In this study, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was employed to investigate the population structure of B. burgdorferi recovered from human Lyme disease patients. A total of 146 clinical isolates from patients in New York and Wisconsin were

SUBMITTER: Hanincova K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3775742 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature