Genetic Diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Isolated in Far Eastern Russia

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Borrelia sp. prevalence in ticks on migratory birds was surveyed in central Japan. In autumn, a total of 1,733 birds representing 40 species were examined for ticks. A total of 361 ticks were obtained from 173 birds of 15 species, and these ticks were immature Haemaphysalis flava (94.4%), Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes columnae, Ixodes persulcatus, Ixodes turdus, and an unidentified Ixodes species. Of these, 27 juveniles of H. flava on Turdus pallidus, Turdus cardis, or Emberiza spodocephala, 2 juveniles of I. persulcatus on T. pallidus, and 1 female H. flava molted from a T. pallidus-derived nymph were positive for the presence of Borrelia by Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly culture passages. In spring, a total of 16 ticks obtained from 102 birds of 21 species were negative for the spirochete. Isolates from 15 ticks were characterized by 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis; all isolates were identified as Borrelia garinii with pattern B/B based on the previous patterning. According to the intergenic spacer sequences, 2 of 15 isolates, strains Fi14f and Fi24f, were highly similar to B. garinii strains 935T of Korea and ChY13p of Inner Mongolia, China, respectively. These findings indicate that Lyme disease-causing B. garinii may have been introduced to Japan by migratory birds from northeastern China via Korea. Additionally, a case of transstadial transmission of B. garinii from nymph to adult H. flava suggests that the infected H. flava may transmit Borrelia to large animals.Lyme disease is primarily caused by three genomic species, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia afzelii (2, 4). B. garinii and B. afzelii are widely distributed from Europe to the Far East including Japan, while B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is prevalent in North America and has been confirmed in part of Europe. B. burgdorferi sensu lato is mainly transmitted by some tick species of the Ixodes ricinus complex, and these ticks infest both mammals and birds (1,9,10,13,19,25).Concerning the prevalence of Borrelia in ticks feeding on birds, B. garinii has been isolated from Ixodes persulcatus on Emberiza spodocephala and Turdus chrysolaus in Hokkaido, Japan (20, 24), and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. garinii, B. afzelii, and Borrelia andersonii have been isolated from Ixodes dentatus, I. ricinus, Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes uriae, and other ticks, which infest a large number of bird species in Europe and North America (6,13,15,27,28,30). Furthermore, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, detected on some bird species, was reported to be a reservoir of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto in North America (13,26).B. afzelii is transmitted between I. persulcatus and field rodents, and B. garinii is transmitted between I. persulcatus and migratory birds or rodents, in Hokkaido, Japan (24, 25). However, there has not been a survey of Borrelia in migratory birds which travel directly between the Asiatic continent and Japan. In this survey, we examined the Borrelia prevalence in juvenile ticks remo...

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Lyme Disease Borrelia spp. in Ticks from Migratory Birds on the Japanese Mainland

Ishiguro¹,

Takada

Masuzawa

et al. 2000

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“…garinii is highly polymorphic and comprises six OspA serotypes and different ribotypes (6,14,33). Recent evidence indicates that some Asian strains of B. garinii thrive in rodent hosts rather than in avian hosts (34,36). Furthermore, recent studies suggest that OspA serotype 4 strains are associated with rodents rather than with birds (14,16).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under the umbrella of the wider taxon Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacteria constitute a group of 11 named genospecies, which were delineated based on DNA-DNA hybridization and sequence divergence of selected loci (2,32,34,39,40). In Europe, six genospecies are recorded as infecting Ixodes ricinus ticks (8,15,25), and the most prevalent genospecies are B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana (13,25).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of Borrelia garinii and B. valaisiana with Songbirds in Slovakia

Haninçová

Tarageľová²,

Koči

et al. 2003

213

165

In Europe, 6 of the 11 genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are prevalent in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks. In most parts of Central Europe, B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana are the most frequent species, whereas B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. bissettii, and B. lusitaniae are rare. Previously, it has been shown that B. afzelii is associated with European rodents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana in Slovakia. Songbirds were captured in a woodland near Bratislava and investigated for engorged ticks. Questing I. ricinus ticks were collected in the same region. Both tick pools were analyzed for spirochete infections by PCR, followed by DNA-DNA hybridization and, for a subsample, by nucleotide sequencing. Three of the 17 captured songbird species were infested with spirochete-infected ticks. Spirochetes in ticks that had fed on birds were genotyped as B. garinii and B. valaisiana, whereas questing ticks were infected with B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana. Furthermore, identical ospA alleles of B. garinii were found in ticks that had fed on the birds and in questing ticks. The data show that songbirds are reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana but not of B. afzelii. This and previous studies confirm that B. burgdorferi sensu lato is host associated and that this bacterial species complex contains different ecotypes.Lyme borreliosis is the most frequent arthropod-borne disease in humans living in moderate climates. Under the umbrella of the wider taxon Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacteria constitute a group of 11 named genospecies, which were delineated based on DNA-DNA hybridization and sequence divergence of selected loci (2,32,34,39,40). In Europe, six genospecies are recorded as infecting Ixodes ricinus ticks (8,15,25), and the most prevalent genospecies are B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana (13, 25). In contrast to the case in northern America, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. bissettii are relatively rare in Europe (8,13,15,25). B. lusitaniae seems to be restricted to the western Mediterranean Basin, where its infection prevalence in ticks has been reported to be very high locally (3).Since the delineation of genospecies in B. burgdorferi sensu lato, it has been discussed whether the species complex is differentiated ecologically (4,17,18,26,44 B. valaisiana (12, 17, 19, 27, 29). The transmission model also predicts that bird-and rodent-associated ecotypes of B. burgdorferi sensu lato segregate in individual questing ticks, a prediction that has also been validated (25).The present work was carried out in a region of Europe where B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana are prevalent in questing ticks. In a previous study carried out in the same region, we have demonstrated that rodents are the reservoir hosts of B. afzelii but not of B. garinii and B. valaisiana (13). For this reason, hosts other than rodents must contribute to the prevalence of B. garinii and B. valaisiana in questing tic...

“…The remaining five cultures were cultures of multiple Borrelia isolates from ticks and rodents that were infected with two or more Borrelia species. Cultures of multiple Borrelia isolates were frequently found in surveys conducted in far eastern Russia (11,18) and northeastern China (9). The Lyme Borrelia species found in our survey areas seem to resemble those isolated from I. persulcatus collected in Hokkaido, Japan (16), in far eastern Russia (11,18), and in northeastern China (16).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyme Disease Borrelia spp. in Ticks and Rodents from Northwestern China

Takada

Masuzawa

Ishiguro³

et al. 2001

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In May 1999, field surveys of Lyme disease spirochetes were conducted around the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern People's Republic of China. Ixodes persulcatus ticks were obtained in a Tianchi Lake valley with primary forest, while the tick fauna was poor in the semidesert or at higher altitudes in this region. Species identities were confirmed by molecular analysis in which an internal transcribed spacer sequence was used. Of 55 adult ticks, 22 (40%) were positive for spirochetes as determined by Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly culture passages. In addition, some rodents, including Apodemus uralensis (5 of 14 animals) and Cricetulus longicaudatus (the only animal examined), and some immature stages of I. persulcatus (4 of 11 ticks) that had fed on A. uralensis were positive for spirochetes. Based on 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and reactivity with monoclonal antibodies, 35 cultures (including double isolation cultures) were identified as Borrelia garinii (20 isolates, including 9 Eurasian pattern B isolates and 11 Asian pattern C isolates), Borrelia afzelii (10 pattern D isolates), and mixed cultures (5 cultures, including isolates that produced B. garinii patterns B and C plus B. afzelii pattern D). These findings revealed that Lyme disease pathogens are distributed in the mountainous areas in northwestern China even though it is an arid region, and they also confirmed the specific relationship between I. persulcatus and genetic patterns of Borrelia spp. on the Asian continent.