title: Transposon mutagenesis as an approach to improved understanding of Borrelia pathogenesis and biology.
abstract: Transposon insertion provides a method for near-random mutation of bacterial genomes, and has been utilized extensively for the study of bacterial pathogenesis and biology. This approach is particularly useful for organisms that are relatively refractory to genetic manipulation, including Lyme disease Borrelia. In this review, progress to date in the application of transposon mutagenesis to the study of Borrelia burgdorferi is reported. An effective Himar1-based transposon vector has been developed and used to acquire a sequence-defined library of nearly 4500 mutants in the infectious, moderately transformable B. burgdorferi B31 derivative 5A18NP1. Analysis of these transposon mutants using signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) and Tn-seq approaches has begun to yield valuable information regarding the genes important in the pathogenesis and biology of this organism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Erin B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Troy
authors.affiliation: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Linden T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Norris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005827:Genetics, Microbial / Q000379:methods*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements
keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; bacterial physiology; microbial pathogenesis; mouse models; transposon mutagenesis