{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T22:35:43Z","timestamp":1778711743434,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,24]],"date-time":"2025-11-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763942400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006769","name":"Russian Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["24-24-00390"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24-24-00390"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006769","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) persistence in reservoir hosts is essential for the maintenance of the spirochaetes in the enzootic cycle. In this study, we investigated the persistence of Siberian B. burgdorferi s.l. strains in naturally infected voles and their transmission to Ixodes ticks. A long-term study conducted in 2013\u20132024 demonstrated the presence of Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia bavariensis, and, rarely, \u201cCandidatus Borrelia sibirica\u201d DNA in blood samples of small mammals. Among these, B. bavariensis exhibited the highest genetic diversity. All identified Borrelia species persisted in naturally infected Clethrionomys spp. voles throughout their lifespan (up to 50 weeks), providing the first evidence of long-term persistence of B. bavariensis and \u201cCandidatus B. sibirica\u201d in these hosts. Notably, the persistence of two Borrelia genospecies or several genovariants of a single genospecies within the same vole was common. Xenodiagnosis with laboratory-reared Ixodes spp. confirmed efficient transmission of all identified Borrelia genospecies to Ixodes persulcatus after 35\u201342 weeks of B. burgdorferi s.l. persistence. Moreover, B. bavariensis was transmitted to Ixodes pavlovskyi and I. persulcatus\/I. pavlovskyi interspecies hybrids after at least 23 weeks of pathogen persistence. These findings demonstrate the reservoir competence of Clethrionomys spp. for B. afzelii, B. bavariensis, and \u201cCandidatus B. sibirica\u201d.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens14121200","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,24]],"date-time":"2025-11-24T14:59:04Z","timestamp":1763996344000},"page":"1200","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The First Study of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Persistence in Small Mammals Captured in the Ixodes persulcatus Distribution Area in Western Siberia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5930-5306","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vera","family":"Rar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Valeriy","family":"Yakimenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Omsk Research Institute of Natural Foci Infections, 644080 Omsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5604-1846","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yana","family":"Igolkina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yuliya","family":"Sabitova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-2070-6332","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"Fedorets","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alfrid","family":"Karimov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Omsk Research Institute of Natural Foci Infections, 644080 Omsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gavril","family":"Rubtsov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Omsk Research Institute of Natural Foci Infections, 644080 Omsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tamara","family":"Epikhina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nina","family":"Tikunova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101766","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2021.101766","article-title":"Host association of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato: A review","volume":"12","author":"Wolcott","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ticks Tick Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ttbdis.2011.04.002","article-title":"Updates on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex with respect to public health","volume":"2","author":"Rudenko","year":"2011","journal-title":"Ticks Tick Borne Dis."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"267.e9\u201315","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cmi.2015.11.009","article-title":"Isolation of live Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochaetes from patients with undefined disorders and symptoms not typical for Lyme borreliosis","volume":"22","author":"Rudenko","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin. 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