Defining Plasmids Required by Borrelia burgdorferi for Colonization of Tick Vector Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothee Grimm ◽  
Kit Tilly ◽  
Dawn M. Bueschel ◽  
Mark A. Fisher ◽  
Paul F. Policastro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Tick Vector

scholarly journals Isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from saliva of the tick vector, Ixodes scapularis.

1994 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 755-758 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Ewing ◽  
A Scorpio ◽  
D R Nelson ◽  
T N Mather
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Tick Vector

DURATION OF BORRELIA BURGDORFERI INFECTIVITY IN WHITE-FOOTED MICE FOR THE TICK VECTOR IXODES SCAPULARIS UNDER LABORATORY AND FIELD CONDITIONS IN ONTARIO

1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 766-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Robbin Lindsay ◽  
Ian K. Barker ◽  
Gordon A. Surgeoner ◽  
Scott A. McEwen ◽  
G. Douglas Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Tick Vector

The effect of infection with Lyme disease spirochetes (Borrelia burgdorferi) on the phototaxis, activity, and questing height of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis

Parasitology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Lefcort ◽  
L. A. Durden
Keyword(s):  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Bacterial Pathogen ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Infected Tick ◽  
Tick Vector ◽  
Tick Vectors

SUMMARYLittle is known about the effects of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, on its tick vectors. The purpose of this study was to determine the behavioural and ecological effects of infection by the bacterium in nymphal and adult black-legged (Ixodes scapularis) ticks. We found that the effects of infection were more pronounced in adults than in nymphs. Compared to uninfected adults, infected adults were less able to overcome physical obstacles, avoided vertical surfaces, were less active and quested at lower heights. Infected nymphs showed increased phototaxis and attraction to vertical surfaces. Infected nymphs also showed trends toward increased questing height and a greater tendency to overcome physical obstacles although these trends were not statistically significant. These altered behaviours in an infected tick may affect survival or pathogen transmission and may reflect kin selection in the bacterial pathogen.

scholarly journals MyD88 Deficiency Enhances Acquisition and Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi by Ixodes scapularis Ticks

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 2154-2160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda K. Bockenstedt ◽  
Nengyin Liu ◽  
Ira Schwartz ◽  
Durland Fish
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Innate Immune ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Effector Functions ◽  
Tick Vector ◽  
Inoculation Site ◽  
High Virulence ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Pathogen Burden

ABSTRACT Borrelia burgdorferi strains exhibit various degrees of infectivity and pathogenicity in mammals, which may be due to their relative ability to evade initial host immunity. Innate immune cells recognize B. burgdorferi by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that use the intracellular molecule MyD88 to mediate effector functions. To determine whether impaired TLR signaling enhances Ixodes scapularis acquisition of B. burgdorferi, we fed nymphs on wild-type (WT) and MyD88−/− mice previously infected with two clinical isolates of B. burgdorferi, BL206, a high-virulence strain, and B348, an attenuated strain. Seventy-three percent of the nymphs that fed on BL206-infected WT mice and 40% of the nymphs that fed on B348-infected WT mice acquired B. burgdorferi, whereas 100% of the nymphs that fed on MyD88−/− mice became infected, irrespective of B. burgdorferi strain. Ticks that acquired infection after feeding on MyD88−/− mice harbored more spirochetes than those that fed on WT mice, as assessed by quantitative PCR for B. burgdorferi DNA. Vector transmission of BL206 and B348 was also enhanced when MyD88−/− mice were the blood meal hosts, with the mean pathogen burden at the skin inoculation site significantly higher than levels in WT mice. These results show that the absence of MyD88 facilitates passage of both low- and high-infectivity B. burgdorferi strains between the tick vector and the mammal and enhances the infectivity of a low-infectivity B. burgdorferi strain.

Geographic Uniformity of the Lyme Disease Spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) and Its Shared History With Tick Vector (Ixodes scapularis) in the Northeastern United States

Genetics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 833-849
Author(s):  
Wei-Gang Qiu ◽  
Daniel E Dykhuizen ◽  
Michael S Acosta ◽  
Benjamin J Luft
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Lyme Disease ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Balancing Selection ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Tick Vector

Abstract Over 80% of reported cases of Lyme disease in the United States occur in coastal regions of northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. The genetic structure of the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) and its main tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) was studied concurrently and comparatively by sampling natural populations of I. scapularis ticks along the East Coast from 1996 to 1998. Borrelia is genetically highly diverse at the outer surface protein ospC. Since Borrelia is highly clonal, the ospC alleles can be used to define clones. A newly designed reverse line blotting (RLB) assay shows that up to 10 Borrelia clones can infect a single tick. The clone frequencies in Borrelia populations are the same across the Northeast. On the other hand, I. scapularis populations show strong regional divergence (among northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and southern states) as well as local differentiation. The high genetic diversity within Borrelia populations and the disparity in the genetic structure between Borrelia and its tick vector are likely consequences of strong balancing selection on local Borrelia clones. Demographically, both Borrelia and I. scapularis populations in the Northeast show the characteristics of a species that has recently expanded from a population bottleneck. Major geological and ecological events, such as the last glacial maximum (18,000 years ago) and the modern-day expansion of tick habitats, are likely causes of the observed “founder effects” for the two organisms in the Northeast. We therefore conclude that the genetic structure of B. burgdorferi has been intimately shaped by the natural history of its main vector, the northern lineage of I. scapularis ticks.

scholarly journals Reptile Host Associations of Ixodes scapularis in Florida and Implications for Borrelia spp. Ecology

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 999
Author(s):  
Carrie De Jesus ◽  
Chanakya Bhosale ◽  
Kristen Wilson ◽  
Zoe White ◽  
Samantha M. Wisely
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Borrelia Burgdorferi Sensu Lato ◽  
Mammalian Host ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Tick Vector ◽  
Reservoir Species ◽  
Drift Fence ◽  
Host Associations

Host associations of the tick vector for Lyme Borreliosis, Ixodes scapularis, differ across its geographic range. In Florida, the primary competent mammalian host of Lyme disease is not present but instead has other small mammals and herpetofauna that I. scapularis can utilize. We investigated host–tick association for lizards, the abundance of ticks on lizards and the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl). To determine which lizard species I. scapularis associates with, we examined 11 native lizard species from historical herpetological specimens. We found that (294/5828) of the specimens had attached ticks. The most infested species were Plestiodon skinks (241/1228) and Ophisaurus glass lizards (25/572). These species were then targeted at six field sites across Florida and sampled from June to September 2020, using drift fence arrays, cover boards and fishing. We captured 125 lizards and collected 233 immature I. scapularis. DNA was extracted from ticks and lizard tissue samples, followed by PCR testing for Borrelia spp. Of the captured lizards, 69/125 were infested with immature I. scapularis. We did not detect Borrelia spp. from tick or lizard tissue samples. Overall, we found that lizards are commonly infested with I. scapularis. However, we did not detect Borrelia burgdorferi sl. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that lizards are poor reservoir species.

scholarly journals UNCOORDINATED PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF BORRELIA BURGDORFERI AND ITS TICK VECTOR, IXODES SCAPULARIS

Evolution ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (9) ◽  
pp. 2653-2663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parris T. Humphrey ◽  
Diane A. Caporale ◽  
Dustin Brisson
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Tick Vector

scholarly journals Borrelia burgdorferi bba66Gene Inactivation Results in Attenuated Mouse Infection by Tick Transmission

2013 ◽  
Vol 81 (7) ◽  
pp. 2488-2498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni G. Patton ◽  
Kevin S. Brandt ◽  
Christi Nolder ◽  
Dawn R. Clifton ◽  
James A. Carroll ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Borrelia Burgdorferi ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Mammalian Host ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tick Vector ◽  
Tick Transmission ◽  
Encoding Gene ◽  
Host Infection ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe impact of theBorrelia burgdorferisurface-localized immunogenic lipoprotein BBA66 on vector and host infection was evaluated by inactivating the encoding gene,bba66, and characterizing the mutant phenotype throughout the natural mouse-tick-mouse cycle. The BBA66-deficient mutant isolate, BbΔA66, remained infectious in mice by needle inoculation of cultured organisms, but differences in spirochete burden and pathology in the tibiotarsal joint were observed relative to the parental wild-type (WT) strain.Ixodes scapularislarvae successfully acquired BbΔA66following feeding on infected mice, and the organisms persisted in these ticks through the molt to nymphs. A series of tick transmission experiments (n= 7) demonstrated that the ability of BbΔA66-infected nymphs to infect laboratory mice was significantly impaired compared to that of mice fed upon by WT-infected ticks.trans-complementation of BbΔA66with an intact copy ofbba66restored the WT infectious phenotype in mice via tick transmission. These results suggest a role for BBA66 in facilitatingB. burgdorferidissemination and transmission from the tick vector to the mammalian host as part of the disease process for Lyme borreliosis.

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