Homology throughout the multiple 32-kilobase circular plasmids present in Lyme disease spirochetes

Lyme Disease Spirochetes

Immune evasion of the Lyme disease spirochetes.

The Lyme disease spirochetes, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, have adapted very well to both surviving and persisting in the mammalian host despite a strong host antibody response. It appears that both temporal and spatial regulation of outer surface proteins have contributed to this persistence. The spirochetes are able to bind fH and FHL-1 to their surface, resulting in decreased complement ...

Taxonomy of the Lyme disease spirochetes.

Morphology, physiology, and DNA nucleotide composition of Lyme disease spirochetes, Borrelia, Treponema, and Leptospira were compared. Morphologically, Lyme disease spirochetes resemble Borrelia. They lack cytoplasmic tubules present in Treponema, and have more than one periplasmic flagellum per cell end and lack the tight coiling which are characteristic of Leptospira. Lyme disease spirochetes...

Genome Stability of Lyme Disease Spirochetes: Comparative Genomics of Borrelia burgdorferi Plasmids

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne human illness in North America. In order to understand the molecular pathogenesis, natural diversity, population structure and epizootic spread of the North American Lyme agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, a much better understanding of the natural diversity of its genome will be required. Towards this end we present a comparative analysis of t...

Isolation and cultivation of Lyme disease spirochetes.

The successful isolation and cultivation of Lyme disease spirochetes traces its lineage to early attempts at cultivating relapsing fever borreliae. Observations on the growth of Lyme disease spirochetes under different in vitro conditions may yield important clues to both the metabolic characteristics of these newly discovered organisms and the pathogenesis of Lyme disease.