Borrelia burgdorferi alters its gene expression and antigenic profile in response to CO2 levels.
The etiologic agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, must adapt to the distinct environments of its arthropod vector and mammalian host during its complex life cycle. B. burgdorferi alters gene expression and protein synthesis in response to temperature, pH, and other uncharacterized environmental factors. The hypothesis tested in this study is that dissolved gases, including CO(2), serve as a signal for B. burgdorferi to alter protein production and gene expression. In this study we focused on characterization of in vitro anaerobic (5% CO(2), 3% H(2), 0.087 ppm O(2)) and microaerophilic (1% CO(2), 3.48 ppm O(2)) growth conditions and how they modulate protein synthesis and gene expression in B. burgdorferi. Higher levels of several immunoreactive proteins, including BosR, NapA, DbpA, OspC, BBK32, and RpoS, were synthesized under anaerobic conditions. Previous studies demonstrated that lower levels of NapA were produced when microaerophilic cultures were purged with nitrogen gas to displace oxygen and CO(2). In this study we identified CO(2) as a factor contributing to the observed change in NapA synthesis. Specifically, a reduction in the level of dissolved CO(2), independent of O(2) levels, resulted in reduced NapA synthesis. BosR, DbpA, OspC, and RpoS synthesis was also decreased with the displacement of CO(2). Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR indicated that the levels of the dbpA, ospC, and BBK32 transcripts are increased in the presence of CO(2), indicating that these putative borrelial virulence determinants are regulated at the transcriptional level. Thus, dissolved CO(2) may be an additional cue for borrelial host adaptation and gene regulation.
Hyde
Jenny A
JA
Department of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843-1114, USA.
Trzeciakowski
Jerome P
JP
Skare
Jonathan T
JT
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D015151:Immunoblotting; D010100:Oxygen / Q000494:pharmacology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013696:Temperature
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C079616:OspC protein; C106209:p35 antigen, Borrelia; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen