Volume 6, Number 2—April 2000
Synopsis
The bdr Gene Families of the Lyme Disease and Relapsing Fever Spirochetes: Potential Influence on Biology, Pathogenesis, and Evolution
David M. Roberts*, Jason A Carlyon†, Michael Theisen, and Richard T. Marconi*
Table 1
Borrelia species carrying bdr-related genes or expressing proteins immunoreactive with anti-Bdr antisera
| Species | Associated disease | Arthropod vector | Bdr-related information |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.burgdorferi | Lyme disease, endemic worldwide | I. scapularis, I. ricinus, I. pacificus | All bdr-gene family members (18 total) have been identified in isolate B31G (30), bdr-alleles that are organized into 3 subfamilies (D,E,F) (25), the genes are carried on variably sized linear and circular plasmids (30) |
| B. afzelii | Lyme disease, Eurasia | I. ricinus, I. persulcatus | Single bdr gene has been sequenced (43), several Bdr-related proteins have been detected by immunoblot analysis (this report) |
| B.garinii | Lyme disease, Eurasia | I. ricinus, I. persulcatus | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. tanukii | Not associated with human disease | I. tanuki | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. turdae | Not associated with human disease | I. turdus | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. bissettii | Not associated with human disease | I. pacificus, I. scapularis, I. spinipalpis | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. andersonii | Not associated with human disease | I. dentatus | bdr genes detected by hybridization and Bdr-related proteins by immunoblot analyses (this report, data not shown) |
| B. valaisiana | Not associated with human disease | I. columnae, I. ricinus | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. japonica | Not associated with human disease | I. ovatus | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses only (this report) |
| B. hermsii | Endemic relapsing fever, United States | Onithodoros hermsii | Numerous bdr genes have been described and are carried on both linear and circular plasmids (25,46); several detected by immunoblot analyses Bdr proteins have been (this report) (44) |
| B. parkeri | Endemic relapsing fever, United States | Onithodoros parkeri | Two bdr-related genes have been sequenced (25), and others have been detected by hybridization with genes residing on both linear and circular plasmids (46); several Bdr proteins detected by immunoblot analyses (this report) |
| B. turicatae | Endemic relapsing fever, United States | O. turicata | At least nine bdr-related genes have been described and are present on linear plasmids ranging from 25 to 220 kb in size (24,46); several Bdr proteins have been detected by immunoblotting (this report) (24,44) |
| B. miyamotoi | Relapsing fever? | I. persulcatus | Bdr proteins detected by immunoblotting only (this report) |
| B. coriaceae | Epizootic bovine abortion, United States | O. coriaceus | bdr-related genes and proteins detected by hybridization (46) or immunoblotting (this report) |
| B. anserina | Avian spirochetosis, United States | Argas persicus | bdr-related sequences have been detected by hybridization (46), Bdr- related proteins were not detected in in vitro cultivated bacteria (this report) |
