Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of Borrelia burgdorfen isolates from various sources. Infect. Immun

A total of 17 B. burgdorfieri isolates from various sources were characterized by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of whole-cell proteins, restriction enzyme analysis, Southern hybridization with probes complementary to unique regions of evolutionarily conserved genes (16S rRNA and fla), and direct sequencing of in vitro polymerase chain reaction-amplified fragments of the 16S rRNA gene. Three groups were distinguished on the basis of phenotypic and genotypic traits, the latter traced to the nucleotide sequence level. The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi has been isolated from a variety of ticks, animals, and patients suffering from a multistage infection named Lyme disease or Lyme borre-liosis, considered now the most prevalent tick-borne disease in Europe, northern America, and other parts of the worl