Fluorescent Proteins, Promoters, and Selectable Markers for Applications in the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

• Constantin N. Takacs ^[2] ; Zachary A. Kloos ^[3] ; Molly Scott ^[2] ; Patricia A. Rosa ^[1] ; Christine Jacobs-Wagner ^[4]
  1. [1] National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

     National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

     Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] a Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale West Campus, West Haven, Connecticut, USA; b Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; c Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale West Campus, West Haven, Connecticut, USA
  3. [3] a Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale West Campus, West Haven, Connecticut, USA; d Microbiology Program, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
  4. [4] a Microbial Sciences Institute, Yale West Campus, West Haven, Connecticut, USA; b Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA; c Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale West Campus, West Haven, Connecticut, USA; f Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

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• Localización: Applied and Environmental Microbiology, ISSN 0099-2240, Vol. 84, Nº 24, 2018
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Genetic manipulation of the Lyme disease spirochete B. burgdorferi remains cumbersome, despite significant progress in the field. The scarcity of molecular reagents available for use in this pathogen has slowed research efforts to study its unusual biology. Of interest, B. burgdorferi displays complex cellular organization features that have yet to be understood. These include an unusual morphology and a highly fragmented genome, both of which are likely to play important roles in the bacterium’s transmission, infectivity, and persistence. Here, we complement and expand the array of molecular tools available for use in B. burgdorferi by generating and characterizing multiple fluorescent proteins, antibiotic selection markers, and promoters of varied strengths. These tools will facilitate investigations in this important human pathogen, as exemplified by the polar and midcell localization of the cell envelope regulator BB0323, which we uncovered using these reagents.