Identification of immunoreactive linear epitopes of Borrelia miyamotoi

Borrelia miyamotoi is an emerging tick-borne spirochete transmitted by ixodid ticks. Current serologic assays for B. miyamotoi are impacted by genetic similarities to other Borrelia and limited understanding of optimal antigenic targets. In this study, we employed the TBD-Serochip, a peptide array platform, to identify new linear targets for serologic detection of B. miyamotoi. We examined a wide range of suspected B. miyamotoi antigens and identified 352 IgM and 91 IgG reactive peptides, with the majority mapping to variable membrane proteins. These included peptides within conserved fragments of variable membrane proteins that may have greater potential for differential diagnosis. We also identified reactive regions on FlaB, and demonstrate crossreactivity of B. burgdorferi s.l. C6 with a B. miyamotoi C6-like peptide. The panel of linear peptides identified in this study can be used to enhance serodiagnosis of B. miyamotoi.