Premium
Identification of Rrp2‐Controlled Mammalian Infection‐Associated Proteins in Borrelia Burgdorferi
Author(s) -
Hosey Kristen,
Cameron Joseph A.,
Yang Frank
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a133-a
Subject(s) - borrelia burgdorferi , biology , lyme disease , gene , spirochaetaceae , sigma factor , virology , rpon , virulence , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , antibody , gene expression , promoter
Lyme disease is the most commonly reported arthropod‐borne illness in the United States and Europe. The infection is caused by the tick‐borne spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi , resulting in a multisystem, multistage, inflammatory illness. Despite its medical importance, very little is known about the virulence determinants of B. burgdorferi . In this regard, we recently identified a genetic regulatory network that is critical for B. burgdorferi infection in mammalian hosts. This network constitutes a bacterial two‐component response regulator, Rrp2, and a novel cascade of the alternate sigma factors, RpoN and RpoS. This regulatory network modulates expression of numerous B. burgdorferi genes and has emerged as a central regulatory pathway for B. burgdorferi pathogenesis. Through microarray and sequencing analyses, we have identified five prospective target genes in Borrelia burgdorferi , bb0681, bb0844, bba05, bba07 , and bbb09 , upon which Rrp2 controls their transcription. In this study, we have chosen three of those genes, bb0844, bba05, and bba07 , to generate recombinant proteins and, subsequently, the respective antibodies to determine their regulation at the protein level. Supported in part by NIGMS Grant No. GM067592.