行政院國家科學委員會專題研究計畫成果報告:伯氏疏螺旋體分離株基因種之快速鑑定

The causative agent of Lyme borreliosis,
Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, is currently
classified as seven genospecies and an
unclassified DN127 group ( B.bissettii). The
seven genospecies are Borrelia burgdorferi
sensu stricto , B. garinii, B. afzelii, B.
japonica, B. andersonii, B. valaisiana, B.
lusitaniae A total of nineteen strains
(including Taiwan isolates) were collected
and analyzed. On the basis of the results
obtained after cleavage by HindIII and RsaI
separately, it showed that the internal
divergent region revealed four patterns, each
representing one of the four genospecies,
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto , B. garinii,
B. japonica, and B. lusitaniae. However,
strains belonging to B. afzelii, B. andersonii
and DN127 ( B. bissettii) cannot be
differentiated by this method alone. The
polymorphism of their rpoD gene in nonconserved
region is therefore proven to be an
alternative rapid way screening and assessing
their diversity.