Borrelia isolates in northern Colorado identified as Borrelia bissettii

Previous work described Borrelia burgdorferi sensu late group DN127 as a ne w genospecies, Borrelia bissettii, and prompted the present study to identi fy the Borrelia spp. that exist in northern Colorado. To determine the geno species present, we analyzed two specific intergenic spacer regions located between the 5S and 23S and the 16S and 23S ribosomal genes. Phylogenetic a nalysis of the derived sequences clearly demonstrated that these isolates, originating from rodents captured in the foothills of northern Colorado, di verged from B. burgdorferi sensu stricto by 5 to 5.5% and were members of t he new genospecies B. bissettii.