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The BB0345 Hypothetical Protein of Borrelia burgdorferi Is Essential for Mammalian Infection.
- Source :
-
Infection and immunity [Infect Immun] 2020 Nov 16; Vol. 88 (12). Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Nov 16 (Print Publication: 2020). - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- During the natural enzootic life cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi (also known as Borreliella burgdorferi ), the bacteria must sense conditions within the vertebrate and arthropod and appropriately regulate expression of genes necessary to persist within these distinct environments. bb0345 of B. burgdorferi encodes a hypothetical protein of unknown function that is predicted to contain an N-terminal helix-turn-helix (HTH) domain. Because HTH domains can mediate protein-DNA interactions, we hypothesized that BB0345 might represent a previously unidentified borrelial transcriptional regulator with the ability to regulate events critical for the B. burgdorferi enzootic cycle. To study the role of BB0345 within mammals, we generated a bb0345 mutant and assessed its virulence potential in immunocompetent mice. The bb0345 mutant was able to initiate localized infection and disseminate to distal tissues but was cleared from all sites by 14 days postinfection. In vitro growth curve analyses revealed that the bb0345 mutant grew similar to wild-type bacteria in standard Barbour-Stoenner-Kelley II (BSK-II) medium; however, the mutant was not able to grow in dilute BSK-II medium or dialysis membrane chambers (DMCs) implanted in rats. Proteinase K accessibility assays and whole-cell partitioning indicated that BB0345 was intracellular and partially membrane associated. Comparison of protein production profiles between the wild-type parent and the bb0345 mutant revealed no major differences, suggesting BB0345 may not be a global transcriptional regulator. Taken together, these data show that BB0345 is essential for B. burgdorferi survival in the mammalian host, potentially by aiding the spirochete with a physiological function that is required by the bacterium during infection.<br /> (Copyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology.)
- Subjects :
- Animals
Bacterial Proteins chemistry
Bacterial Proteins genetics
Borrelia burgdorferi genetics
Borrelia burgdorferi growth & development
Borrelia burgdorferi pathogenicity
Computational Biology
Female
Lipoproteins chemistry
Lipoproteins genetics
Membrane Proteins genetics
Membrane Proteins metabolism
Mice
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Recombinant Proteins
Spirochaetales genetics
Spirochaetales metabolism
Spirochaetales pathogenicity
Bacterial Proteins metabolism
Borrelia burgdorferi metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial genetics
Host Microbial Interactions genetics
Lipoproteins metabolism
Lyme Disease microbiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1098-5522
- Volume :
- 88
- Issue :
- 12
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Infection and immunity
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 32928963
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00472-20