The Borrelia Burgdorferi Regulome

All organisms, from bacteria to humans, need to "recognize" where they are, and respond accordingly. A pathogen must sense its location in the infectious cycle, then produce factors necessary for that site while repressing synthesis of inappropriate factors. This is particularly important for vector-borne pathogens such as the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi, which must not only infect two very different types of animals, but efficiently transmit back-and-forth between vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors. The proposed studies will apply an integrated, systems approach to map the regulatory networks of B. burgdorferi and to elucidate governing signals. The results will yield significant insight on B. burgdorferi physiology, its ability to cause disease and, since disruption of key regulatory pathways can inhibit a pathogen's ability to cause infection, identify strategic targets for developing novel antibiotics.