Phylogeny of a relapsing fever Borrelia species transmitted by the hard tick Ixodes scapularis.

ABSTRACT: The discovery of Borrelia species that were related to the agents of relapsing fever but were transmitted by hard ticks rather than soft ticks challenged previous taxonomies based largely on microbe-host specificities and geographic considerations. One of these newly-identified organisms is the Borrelia miyamotoi sensu lato strain LB-2001 from North America and transmitted by Ixodes scapularis. This or related strains have been identified as the cause of human disease, but comparatively little is known about their biology or genetics. Using recently acquired chromosome sequence of LB-2001 together with database sequences and additional sequences determined here, I carried out comparisons of the several species of Borrelia, including those in the two major clades: the relapsing fever group

SUBMITTER: Barbour AG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4182126 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature