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A family of genes located on four separate 32-kilobase circular plasmids in Borrelia burgdorferi B31.

ABSTRACT: We have identified four loci in Borrelia burgdorferi B31 that contain open reading frames capable of encoding six proteins that are related to the antigenic proteins OspE and OspF. We have designated these proteins Erp, for OspEF-related protein, and named their respective genes erp. The erpA and erpB genes are linked, as are erpC and erpD, and the pairs probably constitute two operons. The erpG and erpH genes appear to be monocistronic. The ErpA and ErpC proteins are expressed by B. burgdorferi B31 in culture and are recognized by a polyclonal antiserum raised against the OspE protein of B. burgdorferi N40. The four erp loci are each located on different 32-kb circular plasmids that contain additional DNA sequences that are homologous to each other and to an 8.3-kb circular plasmid of B. burgdorferi sensu lato Ip2l. All four 32-kb plasmids can be maintained within a single bacterium, which may provide a model for the study of plasmid replication and segregation in B. burgdorferi.

SUBMITTER: Stevenson B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC178120 | biostudies-other | 1996 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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A family of genes located on four separate 32-kilobase circular plasmids in Borrelia burgdorferi B31.

Stevenson B B Tilly K K Rosa P A PA

Journal of bacteriology 19960601 12

We have identified four loci in Borrelia burgdorferi B31 that contain open reading frames capable of encoding six proteins that are related to the antigenic proteins OspE and OspF. We have designated these proteins Erp, for OspEF-related protein, and named their respective genes erp. The erpA and erpB genes are linked, as are erpC and erpD, and the pairs probably constitute two operons. The erpG and erpH genes appear to be monocistronic. The ErpA and ErpC proteins are expressed by B. burgdorferi ...[more]

PMID: 8655548

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Project description:In this study, we characterized seven members of the cp32/18 family of supercoiled plasmids in Borrelia burgdorferi 297. Complete sequence analysis of a 21-kb plasmid (cp18-2) confirmed that the strain 297 plasmids are similar in overall content and organization to their B31 counterparts. Of the 31 open reading frames (ORFs) in cp18-2, only three showed sequence relatedness to proteins with known functions, and only one, a ParA/SopA ortholog, was related to nonborrelial polypeptides. Besides the lipoproteins, none of the ORFs appeared likely to encode a surface-exposed protein. Comparison with the B31 genomic sequence indicated that paralogs for most of the ORFs in cp18-2 can be identified on other genetic elements. cp18-2 was found to lack a 9- to 10-kb fragment present in the 32-kb homologs which, by extrapolation from the B31 cp32 sequences, contains at least 15 genes presumed to be unnecessary for plasmid maintenance. Sequence analysis of the lipoprotein-encoding variable loci provided evidence that recombinatorial processes within these regions may result in the acquisition of exogenous DNA. Pairwise analysis with random shuffling revealed that the multiple lipoproteins (Mlp; formerly designated 2.9 LPs) fall into two distinct homology groups which appear to have arisen by gene fusion events similar to those recently proposed to have generated the three OspE, OspF, and Elp lipoprotein families (D. R. Akins, M. J. Caimano, X. Yang, F. Cerna, M. V. Norgard, and J. D. Radolf, Infect. Immun. 67:1526-1532, 1999). Comparative analysis of the variable regions also indicated that recombination within the loci of each plasmid may occur independently. Last, comparison of variable loci revealed that the cp32/18 plasmid complements of the B31 and 297 isolates differ substantially, indicating that the two strains have been subject to divergent adaptive pressures. In addition to providing evidence for two different types of recombinatorial events involving cp32/18 plasmids, these findings underscore the need for genetic analysis of diverse borrelial isolates in order to elucidate the Lyme disease spirochete's complex parasitic strategies.

Dataset Information

A family of genes located on four separate 32-kilobase circular plasmids in Borrelia burgdorferi B31.

Publications

A family of genes located on four separate 32-kilobase circular plasmids in Borrelia burgdorferi B31.

Similar Datasets

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