Strict Conservation yet Non-Essential Nature of Plasmid Gene bba40 in the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Authors

Irene N Kasumba
Kit Tilly
Tao Lin
Steven J Norris
Patricia A Rosa

Publication Date

6-15-2023

Journal

Microbiology Spectrum

Abstract

The highly segmented genome of Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease, is composed of a linear chromosome and more than 20 co-existing endogenous plasmids. Many plasmid-borne genes are unique to B. burgdorferi and some have been shown to provide essential functions at discrete points of the infectious cycle between a tick vector and rodent host. In this study, we investigated the role of

Keywords

Mice, Animals, Borrelia burgdorferi, Lyme Disease, Plasmids, Ixodes

DOI

10.1128/spectrum.00477-23

PMID

37010416

PMCID

PMC10269632

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

April 2023

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes