BB0238, a presumed tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein, is required during Borrelia burgdorferi mammalian infection.

ABSTRACT: The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, occupies both a tick vector and mammalian host in nature. Considering the unique enzootic life cycle of B. burgdorferi, it is not surprising that a large proportion of its genome is composed of hypothetical proteins not found in other bacterial pathogens. bb0238 encodes a conserved hypothetical protein of unknown function that is predicted to contain a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) domain, a structural motif responsible for mediating protein-protein interactions. To evaluate the role of bb0238 during mammalian infection, a bb0238-deficient mutant was constructed. The bb0238 mutant was attenuated in mice infected via needle inoculation, and complementation of bb0238 expression restored infectivity to wild-type levels. bb0238 expression doe

SUBMITTER: Groshong AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4187884 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature