Phylogenetic Analysis of the Spirochetes Borrelia parkeri and Borrelia turicatae and the Potential for Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever in Florida

Isolates of Borrelia turicatae, Borrelia parkeri, and the Florida canine borrelia (FCB) were examined to further phylogenetically characterize the identities of these spirochetes in the United States. DNA sequences of four chromosomal loci (the 16S rRNA gene, flaB, gyrB, and glpQ) were determined fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2005-08, Vol.43 (8), p.3851-3859
Main Authors: Schwan, Tom G, Raffel, Sandra J, Schrumpf, Merry E, Policastro, Paul F, Rawlings, Julie A, Lane, Robert S, Breitschwerdt, Edward B, Porcella, Stephen F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial diseases
Bacterial Proteins - analysis
Bacteriology
Biological and medical sciences
Borrelia - classification
Borrelia - genetics
Borrelia infections
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Medical sciences
Microbiology
Miscellaneous
Phylogeny
Plasmids
Relapsing Fever - microbiology
Sequence Analysis, DNA
Tropical bacterial diseases
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Summary:Isolates of Borrelia turicatae, Borrelia parkeri, and the Florida canine borrelia (FCB) were examined to further phylogenetically characterize the identities of these spirochetes in the United States. DNA sequences of four chromosomal loci (the 16S rRNA gene, flaB, gyrB, and glpQ) were determined for eight isolates of B. turicatae and six isolates of B. parkeri, which grouped the spirochetes into two distinct but closely related taxa (>98% sequence identity) separate from Borrelia hermsii. The FCB was clearly separated with the group identified as B. turicatae, confirming this bacterium as a relapsing fever spirochete. Therefore, the potential for tick-borne relapsing fever in humans and other animals exists in Florida and future efforts are needed to determine the enzootic hosts and distribution of this spirochete in the southeastern United States. Analysis of plasmids demonstrated both linear and circular forms in B. turicatae but only linear plasmids in B. parkeri, which should be of interest to investigators concerned with plasmid diversity and evolution within this group of spirochetes.
ISSN:0095-1137
1098-660X
DOI:10.1128/JCM.43.8.3851-3859.2005