Open AccessA nested polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato based on a multiple sequence analysis of the hbb gene
Author(s) -
Valsangiacomo Claudio,
Balmelli Tiziano,
Piffaretti JeanClaude
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1996.tb08020.x
Subject(s) - borrelia burgdorferi , sensu , biology , polymerase chain reaction , nested polymerase chain reaction , gene , genomic dna , sequence analysis , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , antibody , botany , genus
A highly sensitive nested polymerase chain reaction method was designed for the detection of a wide spectrum of strains from Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. This technique allows the detection of as little as 3 fg of total genomic DNA extracted and purified from pure cultures of the organism, this amount corresponds to less than 10 organisms. Two sets of primers homologous to conserved spots in the coding region of the hbb gene, encoding a conserved histone‐like protein, were constructed. These were based on a multiple sequence alignment of 39 strains representing all the genomic groups described in B. burgdorferi sensu lato.