Genotypic and phenotypic diversity among nine Swiss isolates of Borrelia burgdorferi

Nine strains of Borrelia burgdorferi isolated from ticks in the canton of Valais (Switzerland) were characterized genotypically by determining restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and plasmid profiles. The strains were also compared with respect to presence and electrophoretic mobility of the outer surface proteins OspA and OspB, and immunoreactivity of OspA and a 12 kD antigen. By both approaches, three different patterns were observed resulting in identical grouping of the strains. However, RFLP's allowed determination of relationships among strains within a group and have shown that geographic distribution does not correlate with genotype.