Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology of Pathogenic Spirochetes

National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases

Investigators

Abstract

In FY2025, our work has focused on characterizing principles of cell biology and gene regulation in the Lyme disease spirochete, B. burgdorferi. Lyme disease is an emerging infectious disease and the foremost vector-borne bacterial infection in the world. B. burgdorferi inhabits tick and mammalian hosts, environments with very different temperatures, immune responses and sources of metabolites, therefore, the bacterium must harbor robust gene regulatory mechanisms to survive. Yet, fundamental aspects of cell biology and gene expression have not been studied extensively in B. burgdorferi.