Oligo-chip based detection of tick-borne bacteria

We have developed an oligonucleotide-chip based assay for detection of 16S ribosomal PCR products from tick-borne bacteria. This chip contains 14 specific probes, which target variable regions of 16S rDNA of tick-borne bacteria including Borrellia spp., Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp., Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis. The specificity of these probes was tested by hybridization of the chip with fluorescently labeled PCR products amplified from the genomic DNA of selected tick-borne bacteria. The assay was also tested for detection of tick-borne bacteria in single ticks.