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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Cultivation Methods of Spirochetes from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex and Relapsing Fever Borrelia

Cultivation Methods of Spirochetes from Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex and Relapsing Fever Borrelia

Published on: November 25, 2022

The genus Borrelia reloaded.

Gabriele Margos¹, Alex Gofton², Daniel Wibberg³

¹Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority and National Reference Center for Borrelia, Oberschleissheim, Germany.

|December 27, 2018

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study re-unites the relapsing fever and Lyme borreliosis spirochetes into a single genus, Borrelia. Analysis using conserved protein percentages supports this classification, proposing an emended genus Borrelia.

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Last Updated: Jan 31, 2026

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Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR

Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR

Published on: February 4, 2018

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Bacterial Taxonomy
Genomics

Background:

The genus Borrelia encompasses spirochetes transmitted by ticks or lice, including the relapsing fever (RF) and Lyme borreliosis (LB) groups.
A previous proposal suggested separating Borrelia into two genera: Borrelia (RF group) and Borreliella (LB group).

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the taxonomic status of Borrelia spirochetes using a robust method for bacterial genus demarcation.
To determine if the RF group, LB group, and other Borrelia species should be classified under a single genus.

Main Methods:

Utilized the percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) method, a standard for bacterial genus demarcation.
Included species from the RF group, LB group, and intermittent clades (e.g., *Borrelia turcica*, *Candidatus Borrelia tachyglossi*) in the analysis.

Main Results:

The POCP analysis provided strong evidence that all investigated Borrelia groups belong within a single genus.
The data did not support the proposed separation into Borrelia and Borreliella genera.

Conclusions:

The findings support the re-unification of all Borrelia groups into a single, emended genus, Borrelia.
This taxonomic revision clarifies the evolutionary relationships within the Borrelia genus.