Characterization and genomic analysis of the Lyme disease spirochete bacteriophage ϕBB-1.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi. Borrelia species have highly fragmented genomes composed of a linear chromosome and a constellation of linear and circular plasmids some of which are required throughout the enzootic cycle. Included in this plasmid repertoire by almost all Lyme disease spirochetes are the 32-kb circular plasmid cp32 prophages that are capable of lytic replication to produce infectious virions called ϕBB-1. While the B. burgdorferi genome contains evidence of horizontal transfer, the mechanisms of gene transfer between strains remain unclear. While we know that ϕBB-1 transduces cp32 and shuttle vector DNA during in vitro cultivation, the extent of ϕBB-1 DNA transfer is not clear. Herein, we use proteomics and long-read sequencing to further characterize ϕBB-1 virions. Our studies identified the cp32 pac region and revealed that ϕBB-1 packages linear cp32s via a headful mechanism with preferential packaging of plasmids containing the cp32 pac region. Additionally, we find ϕBB-1 packages fragments of the linear chromosome and full-length plasmids including lp54, cp26, and others. Furthermore, sequencing of ϕBB-1 packaged DNA allowed us to resolve the covalently closed hairpin telomeres for the linear B. burgdorferi chromosome and most linear plasmids in strain CA-11.2A. Collectively, our results shed light on the biology of the ubiquitous ϕBB-1 phage and further implicates ϕBB-1 in the generalized transduction of diverse genes and the maintenance of genetic diversity in Lyme disease spirochetes.

Characterization and genomic analysis of the Lyme disease spirochete bacteriophage ϕBB-1.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi. Borrelia species have highly fragmented genomes composed of a linear chromosome and a constellation of linear and circular plasmids some of which are required throughout the enzootic cycle. Included in this plasmid repertoire by almost all Lyme disease spirochetes are the 32-kb circular plasmid cp32 prophages that are capable of lytic replication to produce infectious virions called ϕBB-1. While the B. burgdorferi genome contains evidence of horizontal transfer, the mechanisms of gene transfer between strains remain unclear. While we know that ϕBB-1 transduces cp32 and shuttle vector DNA during in vitro cultivation, the extent of ϕBB-1 DNA transfer is not clear. Herein, we use proteomics and long-read sequencing to further characterize ϕBB-1 virions. Our studies identified the cp32 pac region and revealed that ϕBB-1 packages linear cp32s via a headful mechanism with preferentially packaging of plasmids containing the cp32 pac region. Additionally, we find ϕBB-1 packages fragments of the linear chromosome and full-length plasmids including lp54, cp26, and others. Furthermore, sequencing of ϕBB-1 packaged DNA allowed us to resolve the covalently closed hairpin telomeres for the linear B. burgdorferi chromosome and most linear plasmids in strain CA-11.2A. Collectively, our results shed light on the biology of the ubiquitous ϕBB-1 phage and further implicates ϕBB-1 in the generalized transduction of diverse genes and the maintenance of genetic diversity in Lyme disease spirochetes.

c-di-GMP regulates activity of the PlzA RNA chaperone from the Lyme disease spirochete.

PlzA is a c-di-GMP-binding protein crucial for adaptation of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi during its enzootic life cycle. Unliganded apo-PlzA is important for vertebrate infection, while liganded holo-PlzA is important for survival in the tick; however, the biological function of PlzA has remained enigmatic. Here, we report that PlzA has RNA chaperone activity that is inhibited by c-di-GMP binding. Holo- and apo-PlzA bind RNA and accelerate RNA annealing, while only apo-PlzA can strand displace and unwind double-stranded RNA. Guided by the crystal structure of PlzA, we identified several key aromatic amino acids protruding from the N- and C-terminal domains that are required for RNA-binding and unwinding activity. Our findings illuminate c-di-GMP as a switch controlling the RNA chaperone activity of PlzA, and we propose that complex RNA-mediated modulatory mechanisms allow PlzA to regulate gene expression during both the vector and host phases of the B. burgdorferi life cycle.

The glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases GpsA and GlpD constitute the oxidoreductive metabolic linchpin for Lyme disease spirochete host infectivity and persistence in the tick.

We have identified GpsA, a predicted glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, as a virulence factor in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi: GpsA is essential for murine infection and crucial for persistence of the spirochete in the tick. B. burgdorferi has a limited biosynthetic and metabolic capacity; the linchpin connecting central carbohydrate and lipid metabolism is at the interconversion of glycerol-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate, catalyzed by GpsA and another glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, GlpD. Using a broad metabolomics approach, we found that GpsA serves as a dominant regulator of NADH and glycerol-3-phosphate levels in vitro, metabolic intermediates that reflect the cellular redox potential and serve as a precursor for lipid and lipoprotein biosynthesis, respectively. Additionally, GpsA was required for survival under nutrient stress, regulated overall reductase activity and controlled B. burgdorferi morphology in vitro. Furthermore, during in vitro nutrient stress, both glycerol and N-acetylglucosamine were bactericidal to B. burgdorferi in a GlpD-dependent manner. This study is also the first to identify a suppressor mutation in B. burgdorferi: a glpD deletion restored the wild-type phenotype to the pleiotropic gpsA mutant, including murine infectivity by needle inoculation at high doses, survival under nutrient stress, morphological changes and the metabolic imbalance of NADH and glycerol-3-phosphate. These results illustrate how basic metabolic functions that are dispensable for in vitro growth can be essential for in vivo infectivity of B. burgdorferi and may serve as attractive therapeutic targets.

Gene Regulation and Transcriptomics.

Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi, along with closely related species, is the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. The spirochete subsists in an enzootic cycle that encompasses acquisition from a vertebrate host to a tick vector and transmission from a tick vector to a vertebrate host. To adapt to its environment and persist in each phase of its enzootic cycle, B. burgdorferi wields three systems to regulate the expression of genes: the RpoN-RpoS alternative sigma factor cascade, the Hk1/Rrp1 two-component system and its product c-di-GMP, and the stringent response mediated by RelBbu and DksA. These regulatory systems respond to enzootic phase-specific signals and are controlled or fine- tuned by transcription factors, including BosR and BadR, as well as small RNAs, including DsrABb and Bb6S RNA. In addition, several other DNA-binding and RNA-binding proteins have been identified, although their functions have not all been defined. Global changes in gene expression revealed by high-throughput transcriptomic studies have elucidated various regulons, albeit technical obstacles have mostly limited this experimental approach to cultivated spirochetes. Regardless, we know that the spirochete, which carries a relatively small genome, regulates the expression of a considerable number of genes required for the transitions between the tick vector and the vertebrate host as well as the adaptation to each.

Interactions Between Ticks and Lyme Disease Spirochetes.

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato causes Lyme borreliosis in a variety of animals and humans. These atypical bacterial pathogens are maintained in a complex enzootic life cycle that primarily involves a vertebrate host and Ixodes spp. ticks. In the Northeastern United States, I. scapularis is the main vector, while wild rodents serve as the mammalian reservoir host. As B. burgdorferi is transmitted only by I. scapularis and closely related ticks, the spirochete-tick interactions are thought to be highly specific. Various borrelial and arthropod proteins that directly or indirectly contribute to the natural cycle of B. burgdorferi infection have been identified. Discrete molecular interactions between spirochetes and tick components also have been discovered, which often play critical roles in pathogen persistence and transmission by the arthropod vector. This review will focus on the past discoveries and future challenges that are relevant to our understanding of the molecular interactions between B. burgdorferi and Ixodes ticks. This information will not only impact scientific advancements in the research of tick- transmitted infections but will also contribute to the development of novel preventive measures that interfere with the B. burgdorferi life cycle.

Characterization of 6S RNA in the Lyme disease spirochete.

6S RNA binds to RNA polymerase and regulates gene expression, contributing to bacterial adaptation to environmental stresses. In this study, we examined the role of 6S RNA in murine infectivity and tick persistence of the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi. B. burgdorferi 6S RNA (Bb6S RNA) binds to RNA polymerase, is expressed independent of growth phase or nutrient stress in culture, and is processed by RNase Y. We found that rny (bb0504), the gene encoding RNase Y, is essential for B. burgdorferi growth, while ssrS, the gene encoding 6S RNA, is not essential, indicating a broader role for RNase Y activity in the spirochete. Bb6S RNA regulates expression of the ospC and dbpA genes encoding outer surface protein C and decorin binding protein A, respectively, which are lipoproteins important for host infection. The highest levels of Bb6S RNA are found when the spirochete resides in unfed nymphs. ssrS mutants lacking Bb6S RNA were compromised for infectivity by needle inoculation, but injected mice seroconverted, indicating an ability to activate the adaptive immune response. ssrS mutants were successfully acquired by larval ticks and persisted through fed nymphs. Bb6S RNA is one of the first regulatory RNAs identified in B. burgdorferi that controls the expression of lipoproteins involved in host infectivity.

DksA Controls the Response of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi to Starvation.

The pathogenic spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi senses and responds to changes in the environment, including changes in nutrient availability, throughout its enzootic cycle in Ixodes ticks and vertebrate hosts. This study examined the role of DnaK suppressor protein (DksA) in the transcriptional response of B. burgdorferi to starvation. Wild-type and dksA mutant B. burgdorferi strains were subjected to starvation by shifting cultures grown in rich complete medium, Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly II (BSK II) medium, to a defined mammalian tissue culture medium, RPMI 1640, for 6 h under microaerobic conditions (5% CO2, 3% O2). Microarray analyses of wild-type B. burgdorferi revealed that genes encoding flagellar components, ribosomal proteins, and DNA replication machinery were downregulated in response to starvation. DksA mediated transcriptomic responses to starvation in B. burgdorferi, as the dksA-deficient strain differentially expressed only 47 genes in response to starvation compared to the 500 genes differentially expressed in wild-type strains. Consistent with a role for DksA in the starvation response of B. burgdorferi, fewer CFU of dksA mutants were observed after prolonged starvation in RPMI 1640 medium than CFU of wild-type B. burgdorferi spirochetes. Transcriptomic analyses revealed a partial overlap between the DksA regulon and the regulon of RelBbu, the guanosine tetraphosphate and guanosine pentaphosphate [(p)ppGpp] synthetase that controls the stringent response; the DksA regulon also included many plasmid-borne genes. Additionally, the dksA mutant exhibited constitutively elevated (p)ppGpp levels compared to those of the wild-type strain, implying a regulatory relationship between DksA and (p)ppGpp. Together, these data indicate that DksA, along with (p)ppGpp, directs the stringent response to effect B. burgdorferi adaptation to its environment.IMPORTANCE The Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi survives diverse environmental challenges as it cycles between its tick vectors and various vertebrate hosts. B. burgdorferi must withstand prolonged periods of starvation while it resides in unfed Ixodes ticks. In this study, the regulatory protein DksA is shown to play a pivotal role controlling the transcriptional responses of B. burgdorferi to starvation. The results suggest that DksA gene regulatory activity impacts B. burgdorferi metabolism, virulence gene expression, and the ability of this bacterium to complete its natural life cycle.

The Stringent Response-Regulated sRNA Transcriptome of Borrelia burgdorferi.

The Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi must tolerate nutrient stress to persist in the tick phase of its enzootic life cycle. We previously found that the stringent response mediated by RelBbu globally regulates gene expression to facilitate persistence in the tick vector. Here, we show that RelBbu regulates the expression of a swath of small RNAs (sRNA), affecting 36% of previously identified sRNAs in B. burgdorferi. This is the first sRNA regulatory mechanism identified in any spirochete. Threefold more sRNAs were RelBbu-upregulated than downregulated during nutrient stress and included antisense, intergenic and 5' untranslated region sRNAs. RelBbu-regulated sRNAs associated with genes known to be important for host infection (bosR and dhhp) as well as persistence in the tick (glpF and hk1) were identified, suggesting potential mechanisms for post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.

RNase III Processing of rRNA in the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.

The rRNA genes of Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi are unusually organized; the spirochete has a single 16S rRNA gene that is more than 3 kb from a tandem pair of 23S-5S rRNA operons. We generated an rnc null mutant in B. burgdorferi that exhibits a pleiotropic phenotype, including decreased growth rate and increased cell length. Here, we demonstrate that endoribonuclease III (RNase III) is, as expected, involved in processing the 23S rRNA in B. burgdorferi The 5' and 3' ends of the three rRNAs were determined in the wild type and rncBb mutants; the results suggest that RNase III in B. burgdorferi is required for the full maturation of the 23S rRNA but not for the 5S rRNA nor, curiously, for the 16S rRNA.IMPORTANCE Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne zoonosis in the Northern Hemisphere, is caused by the bacterium Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi, a member of the deeply branching spirochete phylum. B. burgdorferi carries a limited suite of ribonucleases, enzymes that cleave RNA during processing and degradation. Several ribonucleases, including RNase III, are involved in the production of ribosomes, which catalyze translation and are a major target of antibiotics. This is the first study to dissect the role of an RNase in any spirochete. We demonstrate that an RNase III mutant is viable but has altered processing of rRNA.

Genetic Manipulation of Borrelia Spp.

The spirochetes Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi and Borrelia hermsii, the etiologic agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever, respectively, cycle in nature between an arthropod vector and a vertebrate host. They have extraordinarily unusual genomes that are highly segmented and predominantly linear. The genetic analyses of Lyme disease spirochetes have become increasingly more sophisticated, while the age of genetic investigation in the relapsing fever spirochetes is just dawning. Molecular tools available for B. burgdorferi and related species range from simple selectable markers and gene reporters to state-of-the-art inducible gene expression systems that function in the animal model and high-throughput mutagenesis methodologies, despite nearly overwhelming experimental obstacles. This armamentarium has empowered borreliologists to build a formidable genetic understanding of the cellular physiology of the spirochete and the molecular pathogenesis of Lyme disease.

Genetic Transformation and Complementation.

The disciplines of Borrelia (Borreliella) burgdorferi microbiology and Lyme disease pathogenesis have come to depend on the genetic manipulation of the spirochete. Generating mutants in these recalcitrant bacteria, while not straightforward, is routinely accomplished in numerous laboratories, although there are several crucial caveats to consider. This chapter describes the design of basic molecular genetic experiments as well as the detailed methodologies to prepare and transform competent cells, select for and isolate transformants, and complement or genetically restore mutants.

Interaction of the Lyme disease spirochete with its tick vector.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease (along with closely related genospecies), is in the deeply branching spirochete phylum. The bacterium is maintained in nature in an enzootic cycle that involves transmission from a tick vector to a vertebrate host and acquisition from a vertebrate host to a tick vector. During its arthropod sojourn, B. burgdorferi faces a variety of stresses, including nutrient deprivation. Here, we review some of the spirochetal factors that promote persistence, maintenance and dissemination of B. burgdorferi in the tick, and then focus on the utilization of available carbohydrates as well as the exquisite regulatory systems invoked to adapt to the austere environment between blood meals and to signal species transitions as the bacteria traverse their enzootic cycle. The spirochetes shift their source of carbon and energy from glucose in the vertebrate to glycerol in the tick. Regulation of survival under limiting nutrients requires the classic stringent response in which RelBbu controls the levels of the alarmones guanosine tetraphosphate and guanosine pentaphosphate (collectively termed (p)ppGpp), while regulation at the tick-vertebrate interface as well as regulation of protective responses to the blood meal require the two-component system Hk1/Rrp1 to activate production of the second messenger cyclic-dimeric-GMP (c-di-GMP).

The Borrelia burgdorferi RelA/SpoT Homolog and Stringent Response Regulate Survival in the Tick Vector and Global Gene Expression during Starvation.

As the Lyme disease bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi traverses its enzootic cycle, alternating between a tick vector and a vertebrate host, the spirochete must adapt and persist in the tick midgut under prolonged nutrient stress between blood meals. In this study, we examined the role of the stringent response in tick persistence and in regulation of gene expression during nutrient limitation. Nutritionally starving B. burgdorferi in vitro increased the levels of guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) and guanosine pentaphosphate (pppGpp), collectively referred to as (p)ppGpp, products of the bifunctional synthetase/hydrolase RelBbu (RelA/SpoT homolog). Conversely, returning B. burgdorferi to a nutrient-rich medium decreased (p)ppGpp levels. B. burgdorferi survival in ticks between the larval and nymph blood meals, and during starvation in vitro, was dependent on RelBbu. Furthermore, normal morphological conversion from a flat-wave shape to a condensed round body (RB) form during starvation was dependent on RelBbu; relBbu mutants more frequently formed RBs, but their membranes were compromised. By differential RNA sequencing analyses, we found that RelBbu regulates an extensive transcriptome, both dependent and independent of nutrient stress. The RelBbu regulon includes the glp operon, which is important for glycerol utilization and persistence in the tick, virulence factors and the late phage operon of the 32-kb circular plasmid (cp32) family. In summary, our data suggest that RelBbu globally modulates transcription in response to nutrient stress by increasing (p)ppGpp levels to facilitate B. burgdorferi persistence in the tick.

Up-regulation of mRNA ventricular PRNP prion protein gene expression in air pollution highly exposed young urbanites: endoplasmic reticulum stress, glucose regulated protein 78, and nanosized particles.

Mexico City Metropolitan Area children and young adults exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants including fine and ultrafine particulate matter (PM) vs. clean air controls, exhibit myocardial inflammation and inflammasome activation with a differential right and left ventricular expression of key inflammatory genes and inflammasomes. We investigated the mRNA expression levels of the prion protein gene PRNP, which plays an important role in the protection against oxidative stress and metal toxicity, and the glucose regulated protein 78, a key protein in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling, in ventricular autopsy samples from 30 children and young adults age 19.97 ± 6.8 years with a lifetime of low (n:4) vs. high (n:26) air pollution exposures. Light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies were carried out in human ventricles, and electron microscopy studies were also done in 5 young, highly exposed Mexico City dogs. There was significant left ventricular PRNP and bi-ventricular GRP78 mRNA up-regulation in Mexico City young urbanites vs. controls. PRNP up-regulation in the left ventricle was significantly different from the right, p < 0.0001, and there was a strong left ventricular PRNP and GRP78 correlation (p = 0.0005). Marked abnormalities in capillary endothelial cells, numerous nanosized particles in myocardial ER and in abnormal mitochondria characterized the highly exposed ventricles. Early and sustained cardiac ER stress could result in detrimental irreversible consequences in urban children, and while highly complex systems maintain myocardial homeostasis, failure to compensate for chronic myocardial inflammation, oxidative and ER stress, and particles damaging myocardial organelles may prime the development of pathophysiological cardiovascular states in young urbanites. Nanosized PM could play a key cardiac myocyte toxicity role.

An inverted repeat in the ospC operator is required for induction in Borrelia burgdorferi.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, differentially regulates synthesis of the outer membrane lipoprotein OspC to infect its host. OspC is required to establish infection but then repressed in the mammal to avoid clearance by the adaptive immune response. Inverted repeats (IR) upstream of the promoter have been implicated as an operator to regulate ospC expression. We molecularly dissected the distal inverted repeat (dIR) of the ospC operator by site-directed mutagenesis at its endogenous location on the circular plasmid cp26. We found that disrupting the dIR but maintaining the proximal IR prevented induction of OspC synthesis by DNA supercoiling, temperature, and pH. Moreover, the base-pairing potential of the two halves of the dIR was more important than the nucleotide sequence in controlling OspC levels. These results describe a cis-acting element essential for the expression of the virulence factor OspC.

Genetics of Borrelia burgdorferi.

The spirochetes in the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies group cycle in nature between tick vectors and vertebrate hosts. The current assemblage of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, of which three species cause Lyme disease in humans, originated from a rapid species radiation that occurred near the origin of the clade. All of these species share a unique genome structure that is highly segmented and predominantly composed of linear replicons. One of the circular plasmids is a prophage that exists as several isoforms in each cell and can be transduced to other cells, likely contributing to an otherwise relatively anemic level of horizontal gene transfer, which nevertheless appears to be adequate to permit strong natural selection and adaptation in populations of B. burgdorferi. Although the molecular genetic toolbox is meager, several antibiotic-resistant mutants have been isolated, and the resistance alleles, as well as some exogenous genes, have been fashioned into markers to dissect gene function. Genetic studies have probed the role of the outer membrane lipoprotein OspC, which is maintained in nature by multiple niche polymorphisms and negative frequency-dependent selection. One of the most intriguing genetic systems in B. burgdorferi is vls recombination, which generates antigenic variation during infection of mammalian hosts.

Borrelia burgdorferi malQ mutants utilize disaccharides and traverse the enzootic cycle.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, cycles in nature between a vertebrate host and a tick vector. We demonstrate that B. burgdorferi can utilize several sugars that may be available during persistence in the tick, including trehalose, N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), and chitobiose. The spirochete grows to a higher cell density in trehalose, which is found in tick hemolymph, than in maltose; these two disaccharides differ only in the glycosidic linkage between the glucose monomers. Additionally, B. burgdorferi grows to a higher density in GlcNAc than in the GlcNAc dimer chitobiose, both of which may be available during tick molting. We have also investigated the role of malQ (bb0166), which encodes an amylomaltase, in sugar utilization during the enzootic cycle. In other bacteria, MalQ is involved in utilizing maltodextrins and trehalose, but we show that, unexpectedly, it is not needed for B. burgdorferi to grow in vitro on any of the sugars assayed. In addition, infection of mice by needle inoculation or tick bite, as well as acquisition and maintenance of the spirochete in the tick vector, does not require MalQ.

Use of rpsL as a Counterselectable Marker in Borrelia burgdorferi.

We have demonstrated that rpsL, encoding the S12 protein of the small ribosomal subunit, can be used as a counterselectable marker in Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Mutations in rpsL confer streptomycin resistance. Streptomycin susceptibility is dominant in an rpsL merodiploid, and streptomycin selects for the loss of wild-type rpsL carried in trans. This is the first description of a counterselectable marker in B. burgdorferi.