Article
Transposition of structural genes to an expression sequence on a linear plasmid causes antigenic variation in the bacterium Borrelia hermsii.
Nature - 1 Jan 2000
Plasterk R H, Simon M I, Barbour A G
Abstract excerpt
In Borrelia hermsii, a spirochaete that causes relapsing fever, the switch between expression of two frequent variable major protein (VMP) types (7 and 21) is associated with a DNA rearrangement. Both cell types 7 and 21 contain untranscribed 7 and 21 VMP genes on linear plasmids. The serotype 7 cells contain an additional copy of the 7 VMP gene fused to an expression sequence on another linear plasmid. Switching...
Topics
- Bacterial Proteins
- Base Sequence
- Borrelia
- Genes
- Genetic Variation
- Plasmids
- Recombination, Genetic