Borrelia mayonii sp. nov., a member of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, detected in patients and ticks in the upper midwestern United States

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis (LB) is a multisystem disease caused by spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) genospecies complex. We previously described a novel Bbsl genospecies (type strain MN14-1420T) that causes LB among patients with exposures to ticks in the upper midwestern USA. Patients infected with the novel Bbsl genospecies demonstrated higher levels of spirochetemia and somewhat differing clinical symptoms as compared with those infected with other Bbsl genospecies. The organism was detected from human specimens using PCR, microscopy, serology and culture. The taxonomic status was determined using an eight-housekeeping-gene (uvrA, rplB, recG, pyrG, pepX, clpX, clpA and nifS) multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) and comparison of 16S rRNA gene, flaB, rrf–rrl, ospC and oppA2 nucleotide sequences. Using a system threshold of 98.3% similarity for delineation of Bbsl genospecies by MLSA, we demonstrated that the novel species is a member of the Bbsl genospecies complex, most closely related to B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (94.7–94.9% similarity). This same species was identified in Ixodes scapularis ticks collected in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This novel species, Borrelia mayonii sp. nov, is formally described here. The type strain, MN14-1420, is available through the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zelkulturen GmbH (DSM 102811) and the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC BAA-2743).

Comprehensive Spatial Analysis of the Borrelia burgdorferi Lipoproteome Reveals a Compartmentalization Bias toward the Bacterial Surface

“…Placing our lipoproteome localization data into the context of genome-and proteome-wide studies may facilitate the identification of additional diagnostic targets and vaccine candidates. The proteomic localization data presented here also provide a predictive framework for proteomic studies of host-pathogen interfaces and envelope structures of other members of the ever-expanding Borrelia genus, including the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi (136,137) and the recently described North American Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia mayonii (138,139).…”

The Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis : An Increasing Public Health Concern

“…mayonii was described and recognized as a causative agent of Lyme disease in Minnesota and Wisconsin [3,80], Bo. burgdorferi had been considered the sole agent of Lyme disease in the United States.…”

Borrelia lanei sp. nov. extends the diversity of Borrelia species in California

“…The closest-related genospecies of the B. burgdorferi s.l. species complex were Borrelia species from North America with B. mayonii, a human pathogenic genospecies recently discovered in the Midwest of the USA [11,12], showing the lowest genetic distance to type strain CA28-91 T (0.040, which equals 96 % similarity) followed by B. burgdorferi s. s. strains Z41293 and B31 (0.042 and 0.045, respectively) and B. americana (0.049) (Fig. 1 and Table S1, available in the online Supplementary Material).…”