{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,6]],"date-time":"2026-04-06T22:27:50Z","timestamp":1775514470636,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,26]],"date-time":"2023-04-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1682467200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease and is caused by a group of bacteria known as <jats:italic>Borrelia burgdorferi sensu<\/jats:italic> lato (s.l.) complex. Sharing the same genus as <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Borrelia miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> is a distinct genotype that causes relapsing fever disease. This emerging tick-borne disease is increasingly becoming a concern in public health. To investigate the prevalence of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi s.l.<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>B<\/jats:italic>. <jats:italic>miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> in ticks first, we developed a PCR (Bmer-qPCR) that targets the phage terminase large subunit (<jats:italic>terL<\/jats:italic>) gene carried by <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic>. A similar approach had been used successfully in developing Ter-qPCR for detecting <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi s.l.<\/jats:italic> The terL protein functions as an enzyme in packaging phage DNA. Analytical validation of the Bmer-qPCR confirmed its specificity, efficiency and sensitivity. Second, we designed a citizen science-based approach to detect 838 ticks collected from numerous sites across Great Britain. Finally, we applied Bmer-qPCR and Ter-qPCR to 153 tick pools and revealed that the prevalence of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. and <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> was dependent on their geographical locations, i.e. Scotland showed a higher rate of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi<\/jats:italic> s.l. and lower rate of <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> carriage as compared to those of the England data. A pattern of diminishing rate of <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> carriage from southern England to northern Scotland was visible. Together, the citizen science-based approach provided an estimation of the carriage rate of <jats:italic>B. burgdorferi s.l.<\/jats:italic> and <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> in tick pools and a potential spreading pattern of <jats:italic>B. miyamotoi<\/jats:italic> from the south to the north of Great Britain. Our findings underscore the power of combining citizen science with the molecular diagnostic method to reveal hidden pattern of pathogen-host-environment interplay. Our approach can provide a powerful tool to elucidate the ecology of tick-borne diseases and may offer guidance for pathogen control initiatives. In an era of limited resources, monitoring pathogens requires both field and laboratory support. Citizen science approaches provide a method to empower the public for sample collection. Coupling citizen science approaches with laboratory diagnostic tests can make real-time monitoring of pathogen distribution and prevalence possible.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2023.1126498","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,4,26]],"date-time":"2023-04-26T06:08:07Z","timestamp":1682489287000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Combining citizen science and molecular diagnostic methods to investigate the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and Borrelia miyamotoi in tick pools across Great Britain"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jinyu","family":"Shan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ying","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Hickenbotham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Louis","family":"Teuli\u00e8res","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martha R. 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