Detection and identification of Ehrlichia, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and Bartonella species in Dutch Ixodes ricinus ticks.

ABSTRACT: A sensitive and specific PCR hybridization assay was developed for the simultaneous detection and identification of Ehrlichia and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In separate assays the 16S rRNA gene of Ehrlichia species and the 23S-5S rRNA spacer region of B. burgdorferi sensu lato were amplified and labeled by PCR. These PCR products were used in a reverse line blot hybridization assay in which oligonucleotide probes are covalently linked to a membrane in parallel lines. Hybridization of the samples with the oligonucleotide probes on this membrane enabled the simultaneous detection and identification of Ehrlichia, B. burgdorferi, and Bartonella species in 40 different samples. The application of the assay to DNA extracts from 121 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from roe deer demonstrated

SUBMITTER: Schouls LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC85121 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature