Lyme bacterium’s possible ancestor found in ancient tick

Commentary: Spirochetes were recently discovered in fossilized ticks, offering possible insights into the evolutionary history of Lyme disease. Although spirochetes have been with us for a long history of time, what has changed over time are the development newer strains of borrelia like Borrelia miyamotoi, and an increase in the number of tick-borne co-infections (like Babesia, Bartonella, and different tick-borne viruses) that are now found in ticks, leading to chronic persistent illness.

Lyme bacterium’s possible ancestor found in ancient tick, by Rachel Nuwer, Nature