Population structure of the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia hermsii as indicated by polymorphism of two multigene families that encode immunogenic outer surface lipoproteins.

ABSTRACT: The tick-borne relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia hermsii evades the mammalian immune system by periodically switching expression among members of two multigene families that encode immunogenic, antigenically distinct outer surface proteins. The type strain, B. hermsii HS1, has at least 40 complete genes and pseudogenes that participate in this multiphasic antigenic variation. Originally termed vmp (for variable major protein) genes, they have been reclassified as vsp (for variable small protein) and vlp (for variable large protein) genes, based on size and amino acid sequence similarities. To date, antigenic variation in B. hermsii has been studied only in the type strain, HS1. Nucleotide sequence comparisons of 23 B. hermsii HS1 genes revealed five distinct groups, the vsp gene family a

SUBMITTER: Hinnebusch BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC107923 | biostudies-literature | 1998 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature