title: The plasmids of Borrelia burgdorferi: essential genetic elements of a pathogen.
abstract: The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has an unusual genome comprised of a linear chromosome and the largest plasmid complement of any characterized bacterium. Certain plasmid-encoded elements are required for virulence and viability, both in vitro and in vivo. The genetic tools to manipulate B. burgdorferi are sufficiently developed for precise molecular genetic investigations. B. burgdorferi now represents a prime system with which to address basic questions of plasmid biology and plasmid contributions to bacterial virulence and disease pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: 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, USA. pestewart@niaid.nih.gov
authors.forename: Philip E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Byram
authors.forename: Dorothee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Kit
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tilly
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D004270:DNA, Circular; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004270:DNA, Circular