Of ticks, mice and men: understanding the dual-host lifestyle of Lyme disease spirochaetes.
In little more than 30 years, Lyme disease, which is caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi, has risen from relative obscurity to become a global public health problem and a prototype of an emerging infection. During this period, there has been an extraordinary accumulation of knowledge on the phylogenetic diversity, molecular biology, genetics and host interactions of B. burgdorferi. In this Review, we integrate this large body of information into a cohesive picture of the molecular and cellular events that transpire as Lyme disease spirochaetes transit between their arthropod and vertebrate hosts during the enzootic cycle.
Department of Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA. JRadolf@up.uchc.edu
Justin D
JD
Radolf
Melissa J
MJ
Caimano
Brian
B
Stevenson
Linden T
LT
Hu
D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D018884:Ixodes / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva / Q000382:microbiology; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission; D051379:Mice / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D009758:Nymph / Q000382:microbiology