Abstract |
Rrp1 is the sole c-di-GMP-producing protein ( diguanylate cyclase) of Borrelia burgdorferi. To test the hypothesis that Rrp1 regulates critical processes involved in the transmission of spirochetes between ticks and mammals, an rrp1 deletion mutant (B31-Δrrp1) and a strain that constitutively produces elevated levels of Rrp1 (B31-OV) were constructed. The strains were assessed for progression through the enzootic cycle using an Ixodes tick/C3H-HeJ mouse model and tick immersion feeding methods. B31-Δrrp1 infected mice as efficiently as wild type but had altered motility, decreased chemotactic responses to N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and attenuated ability to disseminate or colonize distal organs. While this strain infected mice, it was not able to survive in ticks. In contrast, B31-OV displayed normal motility patterns and chemotactic responses but was non-infectious in mice. Using immersion feeding techniques, we demonstrate that B31-OV can establish a population in ticks and survive exposure to a natural bloodmeal. The results presented here indicate Rrp1, and by extension, c-di-GMP, are not strictly required for murine infection, but are required for the successful establishment of a productive population of B. burgdorferi in ticks. These analyses provide significant new insight into the genetic regulatory mechanisms of the Lyme disease spirochetes.
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Authors | Jessica L Kostick, Lee T Szkotnicki, Elizabeth A Rogers, Paola Bocci, Nadia Raffaelli, Richard T Marconi |
Journal | Molecular microbiology
(Mol Microbiol)
Vol. 81
Issue 1
Pg. 219-31
(Jul 2011)
ISSN: 1365-2958 [Electronic] England |
PMID | 21542866
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
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Copyright | © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
Chemical References |
- Escherichia coli Proteins
- Virulence Factors
- Phosphorus-Oxygen Lyases
- diguanylate cyclase
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Topics |
- Animals
- Borrelia burgdorferi
(enzymology, genetics, pathogenicity, physiology)
- Chemotaxis
- Disease Models, Animal
- Escherichia coli Proteins
(genetics, metabolism)
- Gene Deletion
- Gene Expression
- Ixodes
(microbiology)
- Locomotion
- Lyme Disease
(microbiology)
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred C3H
- Microbial Viability
- Phosphorus-Oxygen Lyases
(genetics, metabolism)
- Rodent Diseases
(microbiology)
- Virulence
- Virulence Factors
(genetics, metabolism)
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