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. 1984 Aug;20(2):151–154. doi: 10.1128/jcm.20.2.151-154.1984

Genetic relationship of lyme disease spirochetes to Borrelia, Treponema, and Leptospira spp.

F W Hyde, R C Johnson
PMCID: PMC271274  PMID: 6490811

Abstract

Genetic studies were performed on the following spirochetes: three Lyme disease spirochetes isolated from Ixodes ticks and from human spinal fluid; three species of North American borreliae; four species of Treponema; and two species of Leptospira. The mol% G+C values for Lyme disease spirochetes were 27.3 to 30.5%, similar to values of 28.0 to 30.5% for Borrelia species but different from the values of Leptospira or Treponema species which ranged from 35.3 to 53%. Lyme disease spirochetes represent a new species of Borrelia, with DNA homologies of 31 to 59% with the three North American strains of Borrelia studied. These studies also showed that Lyme disease spirochetes from three sources constituted a single species, with DNA homologies ranging from 76 to 100%. A high degree of relatedness was also seen between the three North American borreliae, with homology varying from 77 to 95%, indicating that these spirochetes represent a single species. Lyme disease spirochetes and Borrelia species exhibited almost no homology with Leptospira and Treponema species (0 to 2%). Plasmids were detected in the three Lyme disease spirochetes and in the three North American borreliae.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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