Cyclic di-GMP modulates gene expression in Lyme disease spirochetes at the tick-mammal interface to promote spirochete survival during the blood meal and tick-to-mammal transmission.

ABSTRACT: Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, couples environmental sensing and gene regulation primarily via the Hk1/Rrp1 two-component system (TCS) and Rrp2/RpoN/RpoS pathways. Beginning with acquisition, we reevaluated the contribution of these pathways to spirochete survival and gene regulation throughout the enzootic cycle. Live imaging of B. burgdorferi caught in the act of being acquired revealed that the absence of RpoS and the consequent derepression of tick-phase genes impart a Stay signal required for midgut colonization. In addition to the behavioral changes brought on by the RpoS-off state, acquisition requires activation of cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) synthesis by the Hk1/Rrp1 TCS; B. burgdorferi lacking either component is destroyed during the blood meal. Prior studies att

SUBMITTER: Caimano MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4496621 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature