PATIENT ISOLATES OF BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI SENSU-LATO WITH GENOTYPIC AND PHENOTYPIC SIMILARITIES TO STRAIN-25015

Strain 25015 is an atypical tick isolate that belongs to a distinct ge nomic group (DNI27) within the general taxon Borrelia burgdorferi sens u late. Similarities between this strain and a white-footed mouse isol ate from Illinois, strain CT39, have been reported, in the course of i solating B. burgdorferi sensu late in culture from Slovenian patients, 9 isolates were identified with the same genetic profiles as strains 25015 and CT39, as evidenced by restriction enzyme MluI digestion patt erns of genomic DNA, The aim of the present study was to molecularly c haracterize all 11 isolates to examine tile extent of their genotypic and phenotypic similarity. The results of molecular studies suggest a close relationship between the patient isolates and strains 25015 and CT39. However, CT39 and several patient isolates possessed unique char acteristics that reflect their discrete ontogeny.