Ixodid ticks collected in diverse ecosystems (including those considerably affected by man) will be examined microscopically and by cultivation for the presence of borreliae. Isolated spirochaetal strains will be identified and used for various experimen ts that might give a better insight into the vectorspirochaete interaction. Effect of different tick compartments (midgut, salivary glands) on viability of borreliae will be studied in the tick species with varied vectorial competence for borreliae (Ixod es ricinus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Haemaphysalis concinna). Ecologically conditioned physiological and enzymological properties of spirochaetes will also be studied. A part of the project will constitute the continuation of a long-term study of infecti on rate of Ixodes ricinus with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., which started in 1991 to gain new data about periodicity of prevalence of borreliae in the tick population as an important factor in the epidemiology of human Lyme borreliosis.

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