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The tick-borne relapsing fever spirocheteBorrelia hermsii evades the mammalian immune system by periodically switching expression among members of two multigene families that encode immunogenic, antigenically distinct outer surface proteins. The type strain,B. hermsii HS1, has at least 40 complete genes and pseudogenes that participate in this multiphasic antigenic variation. Originally termedvmp (for variable major protein) genes, they have been reclassified asvsp (for variable small protein) andvlp (for variable large protein) genes, based on size and amino acid sequence similarities. To date, antigenic variation inB. hermsii has been studied only in the type strain, HS1. Nucleotide sequence comparisons of 23B. hermsii HS1 genes revealed five distinct groups, thevsp gene family and four subfamilies ofvlp genes. We used PCR with family- and subfamily-specific primers, followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, to compare thevsp andvlp repertoires of HS1 and seven otherB. hermsii isolates from Washington, Idaho, and California. This analysis, together with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genome profiles, revealed that the eight isolates formed three distinct groups, which likely represent clonal lineages. Members of the three groups coexisted in the same geographic area, but they could also be isolated across large geographical distances. This population structure may result from immune selection by the host, as has been proposed for other pathogens with polymorphic antigens.

infection and immunity

Population Structure of the Relapsing Fever Spirochete <i>Borrelia hermsii</i> as Indicated by Polymorphism of Two Multigene Families That Encode Immunogenic Outer Surface Lipoproteins

Population Structure of the Relapsing Fever Spirochete Borrelia hermsii as Indicated by Polymorphism of Two Multigene Families That Encode Immunogenic Outer Surface Lipoproteins