Long-term survival of Borrelia burgdorferi lacking the hibernation promotion factor homolog in the unfed tick vector.

ABSTRACT: Borrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, is a zoonotic pathogen that survives in nutrient-limited environments within a tick, prior to transmission to its mammalian host. Survival under these prolonged nutrient-limited conditions is thought to be similar to survival during stationary phase, which is characterized by growth cessation and decreased protein production. Multiple ribosome-associated proteins are implicated in stationary-phase survival of Escherichia coli. These proteins include hibernation-promoting factor (HPF), which dimerizes ribosomes and prevents translation of mRNA. Bioinformatic analyses indicate that B. burgdorferi harbors an hpf homolog, the bb0449 gene. BB0449 protein secondary structure modeling also predicted HPF-like structure and function. Howe

SUBMITTER: Fazzino L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4645378 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature