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Infection and Immunity, September 2000, p. 4992-5001, Vol. 68, No. 9
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Expression and Immunological Analysis of the
Plasmid-Borne mlp Genes of Borrelia burgdorferi
Strain B31
Stephen F.
Porcella,*
Cecily A.
Fitzpatrick, and
James L.
Bono
Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis,
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National
Institutes of Health, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana
59840
Received 17 March 2000/Returned for modification 11 May
2000/Accepted 28 May 2000
A lipoprotein gene family first identified in Borrelia
burgdorferi strain 297, designated 2.9 LP and
recently renamed mlp, was found on circular and
linear plasmids in the genome sequence of B. burgdorferi
strain B31-M1. Sequence analyses of the B31 mlp genes and
physically linked variant gene families indicated that mlp
gene heterogeneity is unique and unrelated to location or linkage to
divergent sequences. Evidence of recombination between B31
mlp alleles was also detected. Northern blot analysis of
cultured strain B31 indicated that the mlp genes were not
expressed at a temperature (23°C) characteristic of that of ticks in
the environment. In striking contrast, expression of many
mlp genes increased substantially when strain B31 was
shifted to 35°C, a temperature change mimicking that
occurring in the natural transmission cycle of the spirochete from tick
to mammal. Primer extension analysis of the mlp mRNA transcripts suggested that sigma 70-like promoters are involved in
mlp expression during temperature shift conditions.
Antibodies were made against strain B31 Mlp proteins within the first 4 weeks after experimental mouse infection. Importantly, Lyme disease patients also had serum antibodies reactive with purified recombinant Mlp proteins from strain B31, a result indicating that humans are
exposed to Mlp proteins during infection. Taken together, the data
indicate that strain B31 mlp genes encode a diverse
array of lipoproteins which may participate in early infection
processes in the mammalian host.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of
Health, 903 South 4th St., Hamilton, MT 59840. Phone: (406) 363-9271. Fax: (406) 363-9204. E-mail: sporcella{at}nih.gov.
Infection and Immunity, September 2000, p. 4992-5001, Vol. 68, No. 9
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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