Regulation of outer surface lipoprotein A in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium which causes Lyme disease, is maintained in nature through a cycle involving two distinct hosts: a tick vector and a mammalian host. To adapt to these two diverse environments, B. burgdorferi undergoes dramatic alterations in its surface lipoprotein. Two essential lipoproteins, outer surface protein A (OspA) and outer surface protein C (OspC), are reciprocally regulated throughout the B. burgdorferi lifecycle. Very little is known about the regulation of OspA. These studies elucidate the regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of OspA. Various truncations of the ospA promoter were created and then studied in our novel in vitro model of ospA repression or grown within the host-adapted model. A T-Rich region of the ospA promoter was determined to be a cis-element essential for both the full expression and full repression of ospA.

Author dc:creator

• Oman, Tara Lynn

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Yang, X. Frank

• Borrelia burgdorferi
• OspA
• Outer surface lipoprotein A

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Identifier URI

http://dx.doi.org/10.7912/C2/1715

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu:1805/3629