Variation in the size of the ospA-containing linear plasmid, but not the linear chromosome, among the three Borrelia species associated with Lyme disease.

Abstract excerpt

The aetiological agents of Lyme disease form a phylogenetically heterogeneous group, composed of three species, Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia garinii, and group VS461. We have compared the sizes of the linear plasmid that carries the genes encoding the major outer-surface proteins OspA and OspB as well as the size and structure of the chromosome among the Lyme disease spirochaetes. We have found differences in...

Topics

• Antigens, Surface
• Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
• Bacterial Vaccines
• Base Sequence
• Borrelia
• Borrelia burgdorferi Group
• Chromosomes, Bacterial
• Genes, Bacterial
• Genetic Variation
• Lipoproteins