Characterization of Borrelia sp. isolated from Ixodes tanuki, I. turdus, and I. columnae in Japan by restriction fragment length polymorphism of rrf (5S)-rrl (23S) intergenic spacer amplicons.

Borrelia isolated from various sources in Japan, including rare species of ixodid ticks, Ixodes tanuki, I. turdus, and I. columnae, were characterized by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and sequencing analysis of the 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer amplicon. Borrelia sp. isolated from I. tanuki, I. turdus and I. columnae generated restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns different from those of known B. burgdorferi sensu lato isolates previously reported. Furthermore, some B. afzelii and B. garinii isolated in Japan showed unique RFLP patterns which were not observed among European B. afzelii and B. garinii.