Borrelia burgdorferi bbk13 Is Critical for Spirochete Population Expansion in the Skin during Early Infection.

ABSTRACT: Lyme disease is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted via the bite of an infected tick. B. burgdorferi enters the skin, disseminates via the bloodstream, and infects various distal tissues, leading to inflammatory sequelae, such as Lyme arthritis and Lyme carditis. B. burgdorferi linear plasmid 36 (lp36) is critical for mammalian infectivity; however, the full complement of genes on lp36 that contribute to this process remains unknown. Through a targeted mutagenesis screen of the genes on lp36, we identified a novel infectivity gene of unknown function, bbk13, which encodes an immunogenic, non-surface-exposed membrane protein that is important for efficient mammalian infection. Loss of bbk13 resulted in reduced spirochete loads

SUBMITTER: Aranjuez GF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6479026 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature