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Updated: Dec 27, 2025
Detecting the Lyme Disease Spirochete, Borrelia Burgdorferi, in Ticks Using Nested PCR
Published on: February 4, 2018
Molecular detection of reptile-associated Borrelia in Boa constrictor (Squamata: Boidae) from Veracruz, Mexico
Jorge Morales-Diaz1, Pablo Colunga-Salas2, Dora Romero-Salas1
1Laboratorio de Parasitología, Posta Zootécnica Torreón del Molino, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico.
Abstract:
The reptile-associated Borrelia represent a monophyletic group of bacteria transmitted by several species of hard ticks, which has been reported to only infect amphibians and reptiles in Eurasia and Middle East, however, this bacterial group has not been studied in North America. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Borrelia spirochetes in blood samples of native reptiles of Mexico. Blood samples were directly obtained from individuals, DNA extractions were performed using Chelex-100. The Borrelia detection was performed by conventional PCR. From 102 reptiles tested, only five individuals of Boa constrictor were positive for the presence of DNA of the reptile-associated Borrelia group. Supported by phylogenetic analysis, this study presents the first record of these spirochetes group in Mexico, and initial evidence of B. constrictor as a host of this group.
