| Summary: | Borrelia is a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum, which causes borreliosis – a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted by ticks and lice to human and animals. Small mammals are important reservoirs hosts for different Borrelia pathogens. The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of Borrelia spp. in different species of small mammals collected in Lithuania. A total of 241 small mammals belonged to the nine species Apodemus flavicollis (n=150), Myodes glareolus (n=34), Mus musculus (n=15), Micromys minutus (n=14), Apodemus agrarius (n=10), Microtus oeconomus (n=9), Microtus agrestis (n=4), Microtus arvalis (n=2) and Sorex araneus (n=3) were captured with live-traps in different locations of Lithuania in 2010, 2015–2016. DNR extracted from animal urine bladder was examined for the presence of Borrelia by using conventional, multiplex and nested PCR, and sequence analysis. ospA gene and 16S (rrsA) – 23S (rrlA) intergenic spacer region (ITS) were used as targets. Borrelia spp. was detected in 28 (11.7 %) of small rodents. In total, 11.7% (20/150) of Apodemus flavicollis, 5.9% (2/34) of Myodes glareolus, 2 of the 4 Microtus agrestis, one of the 2 Microtus arvalis, and 3 of the 9 Microtus oeconomus were found to be infected with Borrelia pathogens. The genotyping of ospA gene and sequence analysis of partial 16S (rrsA) – 23S (rrlA) ITS region of Borrelia indicated the presence of two Borrelia species: B. afzelii from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, and Borrelia miyamotoi belonging to the relapsing fever group. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS region sequences demonstrates that Borrelia isolates from small rodents are 99-100% similar to those B. afzelii and B. miyamotoi isolates derived from patients, ticks and rodents. This is the first report of B. miyamotoi found in small rodents in Lithuania Aplinkotyros katedra Biologijos katedra Gamtos mokslų fakultetas Vytauto Didžiojo universitetas
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