Table 1. Mouse infectivity of the B. burgdorferi rel Bbu mutant.
| Route | Strain | Ear b | Ankle b | Bladder b |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needle a | wild type | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
| rel Bbu - | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 | |
| rel Bbu - pBS-rel Bbu | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 | |
| Nymph c | wild type | 7/7 | 7/7 | 7/7 |
| rel Bbu - | 3/12 | 3/12 | 1/12 | |
| rel Bbu - pBS-rel Bbu | 3/3 | 3/3 | 3/3 |
a Intradermal injection with 105 cells.
b Tissues collected five weeks post-injection or post nymph feeding and cultured in BSK medium. Figures are the number of infected mice/number of mice tested.
c Five nymphs infected with the indicated strains were allowed to feed to repletion on naïve mice.