This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kirstein, F. Articles by Gray, J. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kirstein, F. Articles by Gray, J. S. Agricola Articles by Kirstein, F. Articles by Gray, J. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 11 1996, 4060-4065, Vol 62, No. 11
Copyright © 1996, American Society for Microbiology

A molecular marker for the identification of the zoonotic reservoirs of Lyme borreliosis by analysis of the blood meal in its European vector Ixodes ricinus

F Kirstein and JS Gray
Environmental Resource Management, University College Dublin, Belfield, Ireland.

The efficacy of the mitochondrially encoded cytochrome b gene as a molecular marker for the discrimination of the reservoir host species of the Lyme borreliosis spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), in its European vector Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) was determined. Degenerate PCR primers were designed which amplified orthologous regions of the cytochrome b gene in several animal species which act as B. burgdorferi s.l. reservoirs and hosts for I. ricinus. PCR products were amplified and characterized by hybridization and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a 638-bp PCR product with HaeIII and DdeI revealed unique restriction fragment profiles, which allowed the taxonomic identification of animals to the genus level. A system was devised for the detection of the larval host blood meal from the remnants in unfed nymphal I. ricinus ticks by nested PCR amplification. An inverse correlation was demonstrated between amplicon size and successful PCR amplification of host DNA from the nymphal stage of the tick. The stability of the cytochrome b product as a marker for the identification of the larval host species in the nymphal instar was demonstrated up to 200 days after larval ingestion (approximately 165 days after molting) by reverse line blotting with a host-specific probe. This assay has the potential for the determination of the reservoir hosts of B. burgdorferi s.l. by using extracts from the same individual ticks for both the identification of the host species and the detection of the Lyme borreliosis spirochete.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Eisen, R. J., Borchert, J. N., Holmes, J. L., Amatre, G., Van Wyk, K., Enscore, R. E., Babi, N., Atiku, L. A., Wilder, A. P., Vetter, S. M., Bearden, S. W., Montenieri, J. A., Gage, K. L. (2008). Early-phase Transmission of Yersinia pestis by Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and Their Potential Role as Vectors in a Plague-endemic Region of Uganda. Am J Trop Med Hyg 78: 949-956 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Haouas, N., Pesson, B., Boudabous, R., Dedet, J.-P., Babba, H., Ravel, C. (2007). Development of a Molecular Tool for the Identification of Leishmania Reservoir Hosts by Blood Meal Analysis in the Insect Vectors. Am J Trop Med Hyg 77: 1054-1059 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• KENT, R. J., NORRIS, D. E. (2005). IDENTIFICATION OF MAMMALIAN BLOOD MEALS IN MOSQUITOES BY A MULTIPLEXED POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION TARGETING CYTOCHROME B. Am J Trop Med Hyg 73: 336-342 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Derdakova, M., Beati, L., Pet'ko, B., Stanko, M., Fish, D. (2003). Genetic Variability within Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Genospecies Established by PCR-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analysis of the rrfA-rrlB Intergenic Spacer in Ixodes ricinus Ticks from the Czech Republic. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 509-516 [Abstract] [Full Text]