title: Lack of detectable variation at Borrelia burgdorferi vlsE locus in ticks.
abstract: VlsE is a surface exposed lipoprotein of the Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Spirochetes are able to generate many antigenic variants of VlsE by DNA recombination at the vlsE locus. Novel VlsE antigenic variants are readily observed in mice infected with B. burgdorferi. We followed a clonal population of spirochetes through a tick transmission cycle and report that unlike in vertebrates, the vlsE locus is stable in ticks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Leanna K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nosbisch
authors.forename: Aravinda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001179:Arthropod Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008074:Lipoproteins; C105546:VlsE protein, Borrelia burgdorferi