Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Genus Borrelia

  • Chapter
Book cover The Prokaryotes

Abstract

The genus Borrelia is one of the four genera of the family Spirochaetaceae and is comprised of pathogenic spirochetes that are transmitted by arthropod vectors. With the exception of louse-borne relapsing fever, the borrelioses are zoonoses. In the past, due to the inability to culture the spirochetes and conduct the usual morphological and physiological studies for their classification, the borreliae have been classified into species solely on the basis of their arthropod vector. In addition, the antigenic variability associated with some of the borreliae has prevented the use of serological methods for their identification. With the formulation of a culture medium by Kelly (1971), and with subsequent improvements by Stoenner (1974) and Barbour (1984), many of the borreliae can now be cultivated in vitro and taxonomic methods based on molecular biology can be applied to their classification. Nineteen species of Borreliae have been recognized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 74.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Literature Cited

  • Afzelius, A. 1921. Erythema chronicum migrans. Acta Dermato-Venereol. 2: 120–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asbrink, E., and A. Hovmark. 1988. Early and late cutaneous manifestations in Ixodes-borne borreliosis (erythema migrans borreliosis, Lyme borreliosis). Ann. NY Acad Sci. 539:4–15.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Austin, F. E., J. T. Barbieri, R. E. Corin, K. E. Grigas, and C. D. Cox. 1981. Distribution of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxide activities among Treponema pallidum and other spirochetes. Infect. Immun. 33:372–379.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, A. G. 1984. Isolation and cultivation of Lyme disease spirochetes. Yale J. Biol. Med. 57:521–525.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, A. G. 1988. Plasmid analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent. J. Clin. Microbiol. 26:475–478.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, A. G., and C. F. Garon. 1987. Linear plasmids of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi have covalently closed ends. Science 237:409–411.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, A. G., and S. F. Hayes. 1986. Biology of Borrelia species. Microbiol. Rev. 50:381–400.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benach, J. L., J. L. Coleman, R. A. Skinner, and E. M. Bosler. 1987. Adult Ixodes dammini on rabbits: a hypothesis for the development and transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi: J. Infect. Dis. 155:1300–1306.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, B. W., M. H. Kaplan, I. R. Rothenberg, and A. G. Barbour. 1985. Isolation and characterization of the Lyme disease spirochete from the skin of patients with erythema chronicum migrans. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 13:444–449.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, S., V. G. Bundoc, and A. G. Barbour. 1989. Molecular analysis of linear plasmid-encoded major surface proteins, OspA and OspB, of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Mol. Microbiol. 3:479–486.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bryceson, A. D. E., E. H. O. Parry, P. L. Perim, D. A. Warrell, D. Vukotich, and C. S. Leithead. 1970. Louse-borne relapsing fever. A clinical and laboratory study of 62 cases in Ethiopia and a reconsideration of the literature. J. Med. 39:129–170.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bundoc, V. G., and A. G. Barbour. 1989. Clonal polymorphisms of outer membrane protein OspB of Borrelia burgdorferi. Infect. Immun. 57:2733–2741.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burgdorfer, W. 1976. The diagnosis of the relapsing fevers, p. 225–234. In: R. C. Johnson (ed.), The biology of parasitic spirochetes. Academic Press, Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burgdorfer, W. 1989. Vector/host relationships of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Rheumatic Dis. Clinics North America 15:775–787.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burgdorfer, W., A. G. Barbour, S. F Hayes, J. L. Benach, E. Grunwaldt, and J. P. Davis. 1982. Lyme disease-a tick-borne spirochetosis? Science 216:1317–1319.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burgdorfer, W. A., S. F. Hayes, and D. Corwin. 1989. Pathophysiology of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, in ixodid ticks. Rev. Infect. Dis. 2(Suppl. 6):S1442–S1450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callister, S. M., K. L. Case, W. A. Agger, R. F. Schell, R. C. Johnson, and J. L. E. Ellingson. 1990. Effects of bovine serum albumin on the ability of Barbour-StoennerKelly medium to detect Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Clin. Microbiol. 28:363–365.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dattwyler, R. J., D. J. Volkman, and B. J. Luft. 1989. Immunologic aspects of Lyme borreliosis. Rev. Infect. Dis. 2(suppl. 6):S1494–S1498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, G. E. 1956. The identification of spirochetes from human cases of relapsing fever by xenodiagnosis with comments on local specificity of tick vectors. Exp. Parasitol. 5:271–275.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Felsenfeld, O. 1971. Borrelia. Warren H. Green Publishing Co., St. Louis, MO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferdows, M. S., and A. G. Barbour. 1989. Megabasesized linear DNA in the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi,the Lyme disease agent. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86:5969–5973.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fihn, S., and E. B. Larson. 1980. Tick-borne relapsing fever in the Pacific Northwest: an underdiagnosed illness? West. J. Med. 133:203–209.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foster, M. T. 1977. Relapsing fever, p. 64–66. In: H. F. Conn (ed.), Current therapy. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gassmann, G. S., M. Kramer, U. B. Gobel, and R. Wallich. 1989. Nucleotide sequence of a gene encoding the Bor-relia burgdorferi flagellin. Nucl. Acids Res. 17:35–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginger, C. D. 1963. Isolation and characterization of muramic acid from two spirochetes: Borrelia duttoni and Leptospira biflexa. Nature (London) 199:159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, K., J. M. Bangsborg, H. Fjordvang, N. S. Pedersen, and P. Hindersson. 1988. Immunochemical characterization of and isolation of the gene for a Borrelia burgdorferi immunodominant 60-kilodalton antigen common to a wide range of bacteria. Infect. Immun. 56:2047–2053.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, L. J., D. J. M. Wright, and L. C. Archard. 1988. Segmented arrangement of Borrelia duttonii DNA and location of variant surface antigen genes. J. Gen. Microbiol. 134:1785–1793.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, S. C. 1978. Anatomy and chemistry of spirochetes. Microbiol. Rev. 42:114–160.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hovind-Hougen, K. 1976. Treponema and Borrelia morphology, p. 7–18. In: R. C. Johnson (ed.), The biology of parasitic spirochetes. Academic Press, Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howe, T. R., E. R. LaQuier, and A. G. Barbour. 1986. Organization of genes encoding two outer membrane proteins of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi within a single transcriptional unit. Infect. Immun. 54:207–212.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, F. W., and R. C. Johnson. 1984. Genetic relationship of Lyme disease spirochetes to Borrelia, Treponema, and Leptospira. J. Clin. Microbiol. 20:151–154.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, E. W., and R. C. Johnson. 1986. Genetic analysis of Borrelia. Zbl. Bakt. Hyg. A 263:119–122.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, E W., and R. C. Johnson. 1988. Characterization of a plasmid from Borrelia burgdorferi,etiologic agent of Lyme disease. J. Clin. Microbiol. 26:2203–2205.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. C., W. Burgdorfer, R. S. Lane, A. G. Barbour, S. F. Hayes, and E. W. Hyde. 1987. Borrelia coriaceae sp. nov.: putative agent of epizootic bovine abortion. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 37:72–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. C., E W. Hyde, and C. M. Rumpel. 1984a Taxonomy of the Lyme disease spirochetes. Yale J. Biol. Med. 57:529–537.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. C., E W. Hyde, G. Schmid, and D. Brenner. 1984b. Borrelia burgdorferi sp. nov. etiological agent of Lyme disease. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 34:496–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. C., N. Marek, and C. Kodner. 1984c. Infection of Syrian hamsters with Lyme disease spirochetes. J. Clin. Microbiol. 20:1099–1101.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, L. D., B. L. Gruber, M. E. Phillips, and J. L. Ben-ach. 1989. Late cutaneous Lyme disease: acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. Am. J. Med. 86:828–830.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, R. 1971. Cultivation of Borrelia hermsi. Science 173:443–44.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, R. T. 1976. Cultivation and physiology of relapsing fever borreliae, p. 87–94. In: R. C. Johnson (ed.), The biology of parasitic spirochetes. Academic Press, Inc., New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klaviter, E. C., and R. C. Johnson. 1979. Isolation of the outer envelope, chemical components, and ultrastructure of Borrelia hermsii grown in vitro. Acta. Trop. 36:123–131.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lane, R. S., W. Burgdorfer, S. E Hayes, and A. G. Barbour. 1985. Isolation of a spirochete from the soft tick, Ornithodoros coriaceus: a possible agent of epizootic bovine abortion. Science 230:85–87.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • LeFebvre, R. B., G. C. Perng, and R. C. Johnson. 1989. Characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi isolates by restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA hybridization. J. Clin. Microbiol. 27:636–639.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Livermore, B. P., R. F. Bey, and R. C. Johnson. 1978. Lipid metabolism of Borrelia hermsii. Infect. Immun. 20:215–220.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meier, J. T., M. I. Simon, and A. G. Barbour. 1985. Antigenic variation is associated with DNA rearrangements in a relapsing fever borrelia. Cell. 41:403–409.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perng, G.-C., R. C. Johnson, and R. B. LeFebvre. 1990. Genetic components of Borrelia burgdorferi. J. Bacteriol. (submitted for publication).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickett, J. and R. Kelly. 1974. Lipid catabolism of relapsing fever borreliae. Infect. Immun. 9:201–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plasterk, R. H. A., M. I. Simon, and A. G. Barbour. 1985. Transposition of structural genes to an expression sequence on a linear plasmid causes antigenic variation in the bacterium Borrelia hermsii. Nature (London). 318:257–263.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rawlings, J. A., P. V. Fournier, and G. J. Teltow. 1987. Isolation of Borrelia spirochetes from patients in Texas. J. Clin. Microbiol. 25:1148–1150.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ribeiro, J. M. C., T. N. Mather, J. Piesman, and A. Spielman. 1987. Dissemination and salivary delivery of Lyme disease spirochetes in vector ticks (Acari:Ixodidae). J. Med. Entomol. 24:201–205.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger, P. A., P. H. Duray, B. A. Burke, A. C. Steere, and M. T. Stillman. 1985. Maternal-fetal transmission of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Ann. Intern. Med. 103:67–69.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidli, J., T. Hunziker, P. Moesli, and U. B. Schaad. 1988. Cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi from joint fluid three months after treatment of facial palsy due to Lyme borreliosis. J. Infect. Dis. 158:905–906.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwan, T. G., W. Burgdorfer, and C. F. Garon. 1988. Changes in infectivity and plasmid profile of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi,as a result of in vitro cultivation. Infect. Immun. 56:1831–1836.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwan, T. G., W. J. Simpson, M. E. Schrumpf, and R. H. Karstens. 1989. Identification of Borrelia burgdorferi and B. hermsii using DNA hybridization probes. J. Clin. Microbiol. 27:1734–1738.

    PubMed  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Scrimenti, R. J. 1970. Erythema chronicum migrans. Arch. Dermatol. 102:104–105.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steere, A. C. 1989. Medical progress. Lyme disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 321:586–596.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steere, A. C., R. L. Grodzicki, A. N. Kornblatt, J. E. Craft, A. G. Barbour, W. Burgdorfer, G. P. Schmid, E. Johnson, and S. E. Malawista. 1983. The spirochetal etiology of Lyme disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 308:733–740.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steere, A. C., S. E. Malawista, J. A. Hardin, S. Ruddy, W. Askenase, and W. A. Andiman. 1977. Erythema chronicum migrans and Lyme arthritis: the enlarging clinical spectrum. Ann. Intern. Med. 86:685–698.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stoenner, H. G. 1974. Biology of Borrelia hermsii in Kelly medium. Appl. Microbiol. 28:540–543.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stoenner, H. G., T. Dodd, and C. Larson. 1982. Antigenic variation of Borrelia hermsii. J. Exp. Med. 156:1297–1311.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, K., H. J. Bratzke, U. Neubert, B. Wilske, and P. H. Duray. 1988. Borrelia burgdorferi in a newborn despite oral penicillin for Lyme borreliosis during pregnancy. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. 7:286–289.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Russell C. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Carrie A. Norton Hughes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emory University, 105 Bay Colt Road, 30201, Alpharetta, GA, USA

    Albert Balows

  2. Institute for Microbiology, University of Bonn, D-5300, Bonn 1, Germany

    Hans G. Trüper

  3. Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Martin Dworkin

  4. TNO Institute of Environmental Sciences, 2600 AE, Delft, The Netherlands

    Wim Harder

  5. Department of Microbiology, Technical University, D-8000, Munich 2, Germany

    Karl-Heinz Schleifer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Johnson, R.C., Hughes, C.A.N. (1992). The Genus Borrelia . In: Balows, A., Trüper, H.G., Dworkin, M., Harder, W., Schleifer, KH. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2191-1_31

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2191-1_31

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2193-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2191-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation