Plasmid Requirements for Infection of Ticks by<i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i>

Strother, Keith O.; Broadwater, Anne; Silva, Aravinda M. de

doi:10.1089/vbz.2005.5.237

Cited by 47 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Other studies have demonstrated that individual plasmids have determinants important in infecting both ticks and mice. Spirochetes without lp28-4 are associated with an attenuation of the spirochetes' ability to infect tick guts and mice (12,13,20,26). The gene(s) on lp25 besides BBE22 that is responsible for long-term persistence in ticks is not known.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role ofBorrelia burgdorferiLinear Plasmid 25 in Infection ofIxodes scapularisTicks

Strother

Silva

2005

J Bacteriol

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The tick-borne bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi has over 20 different circular and linear plasmids. Some B. burgdorferi plasmids are readily lost during in vitro culture or genetic manipulation. Linear plasmid 25, which is often lost in laboratory strains, is required for the infection of mice. Strains missing linear plasmid 25 (lp25 ؊ ) are able to infect mice if the BBE22 gene on lp25 is provided on a shuttle vector. In this study, we examined the role of lp25 and BBE22 in tick infections. We tested the hypothesis that complementation with BBE22 in spirochetes lacking lp25 would restore the ability of spirochetes to infect ticks. A natural tick infection cycle was performed by feeding larvae on mice injected with the parental, lp25؊ , or lp25 ؊ BBE22-complemented spirochete strains. In addition, larvae and nymphs were artificially infected with different strains to study tick infections independent of mouse infections. B. burgdorferi missing lp25 was significantly impaired in its ability to infect larval and nymphal ticks. When an lp25؊ strain was complemented with BBE22, the ability to infect ticks was partially restored. Complementation with BBE22 allowed spirochetes lacking lp25 to establish short-term infections in ticks, but in most cases the infection prevalence was lower than that of the wild-type strain. In addition, the number of infected ticks decreased over time, suggesting that another gene(s) on lp25 is required for long-term persistence in ticks and completion of a natural infection cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unfortunately, B. burgdorferi lacking lp25 is unable to infect mice when injected intraperitoneally (12,13,20). Linear plasmid 25 also has a role in infecting nymphal ticks; spirochetes lacking lp25 are associated with reduced gut infectivity (26).…”

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Role ofBorrelia burgdorferiLinear Plasmid 25 in Infection ofIxodes scapularisTicks

Strother

Silva

2005

J Bacteriol

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“…The process of generating mts may inadvertently result in selection of mutations in distal genes or loss of plasmids with significant effects on the infectivity of B. burgdorferi (36,41,51,64). There were no overt differences in the protein profile and the level of OspC was significantly higher under mammalian host-specific conditions in all three strains, indicating that both the regulatory mechanisms and the expression of other critical determinants of virulence were similar and intact in the mt and control strains (1,58,63,67).…”

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confidence: 96%

“…IMMUN. (52,64,65). Nonetheless, generation of mts using this approach facilitated analysis of the effect of loss of one or more genes in the infectivity of B. burgdorferi for the mammalian host.…”

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Role of the BBA64 Locus of Borrelia burgdorferi in Early Stages of Infectivity in a Murine Model of Lyme Disease

et al. 2008

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Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, undergoes rapid adaptive gene expression in response to environmental signals encountered during different stages of its life cycle in the arthropod vector or the mammalian host. Among all the plasmid-encoded genes of B. burgdorferi, several linear plasmid 54 (lp54)-encoded open reading frames (ORFs) exhibit the greatest differential expression in response to mammalian host-specific temperature, pH, and other uncharacterized signals. These ORFs include members of the paralogous gene family 54 (pgf 54), such as BBA64, BBA65, and BBA66, present on lp54. In an attempt to correlate transcriptional up-regulation of these pgf 54 members to their role in infectivity, we inactivated BBA64 and characterized the phenotype of this mutant both in vitro and in vivo. There were no major differences in the protein profiles between the BBA64 mutant and the control strains, while immunoblot analysis indicated that inactivation of BBA64 resulted in increased levels of BBA65. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the ability of the BBA64 mutant to infect C3H/HeN mice compared to that of its parental or complemented control strains as determined by culturing of viable spirochetes from infected tissues. However, enumeration of spirochetes using quantitative real-time PCR revealed tissue-specific differences, suggesting a minimal role for BBA64 in the survival of B. burgdorferi in select tissues. Infectivity analysis of the BBA64 mutant suggests that B. burgdorferi may utilize multiple determinants to establish infection in mammalian hosts.Lyme disease is the most prevalent arthropod-borne infection in the United States and remains a significant public health issue in certain geographic loci (3,46). It is a multiphasic disorder with clinical symptoms involving the cutaneous, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems (62). Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted to several vertebrate hosts, including humans, by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. When ticks consume a blood meal from mammalian hosts, there is a rapid alteration of gene expression in B. burgdorferi, facilitating adaptation of the spirochetes to the highly disparate environmental conditions that exist between the tick vector and the vertebrate host (4, 9, 10, 15, 29, 30-32, 44, 53, 57-59, 63, 67). This adaptive gene expression may aid in the efficient trafficking of the spirochetes from the tick vector to the mammalian host and subsequently facilitate dissemination and colonization of various host tissues (16,22).Whole-genome transcriptional analyses using B. burgdorferi, propagated under in vitro growth conditions that mimic either the tick vector or mammalian host environment, have revealed preferential expression of plasmid-encoded genes (4,44,53,66). Among the several linear and circular plasmids present in B. burgdorferi, linear plasmid 54 (lp54) encodes the largest number of open reading frames (ORFs) that exhibit differential gene expression in respon...

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“…Moreover, cp26 plasmid carries a gene coding for outer surface protein C (OspC), which is necessary for early stage of vertebrate host infection but is not required during growth in the tick vector or during in vitro growth [86][87][88] . Strother et al 89 tried to identify plasmids of B. burgdorferi required for tick infection. They demonstrated that plasmids lp5, lp28-1, and cp9 are not required for tick infection, whereas loss of lp25 and lp28-4 is associated with reduced tick infectivity.…”

Section: Genome Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Aspects of Lyme Disease Spirochetes: Unique Bacteria of the Borrelia Burgdorferi Species Group

Křupka¹,

Raška²,

Bĕláková³

et al. 2007

BIOMED PAP

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Background: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato is a group of at least twelve closely related species some of which are responsible for Lyme disease, the most frequent zoonosis in Europe and the USA. Many of the biological features of Borrelia are unique in prokaryotes and very interesting not only from the medical viewpoint but also from the view of molecular biology.Methods: Relevant recent articles were searched using PubMed and Google search tools. Results and Conclusion:This is a review of the biological, genetic and physiological features of the spirochete species group, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. In spite of a lot of recent articles focused on B. burgdorferi sensu lato, many features of Borrelia biology remain obscure. It is one of the main reasons for persisting problems with prevention, diagnosis and therapy of Lyme disease. The aim of the review is to summarize ongoing current knowledge into a lucid and comprehensible form.

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Plasmid Requirements for Infection of Ticks byBorrelia burgdorferi

Cited by 47 publications

References 33 publications

Role ofBorrelia burgdorferiLinear Plasmid 25 in Infection ofIxodes scapularisTicks

Role ofBorrelia burgdorferiLinear Plasmid 25 in Infection ofIxodes scapularisTicks

Role of the BBA64 Locus of Borrelia burgdorferi in Early Stages of Infectivity in a Murine Model of Lyme Disease

Biological Aspects of Lyme Disease Spirochetes: Unique Bacteria of the Borrelia Burgdorferi Species Group

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