Borrelia burgdorferi and Lyme Disease
History
The first case of the Lyme disease was in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975. The disease presented arthritic-like symptoms, and was therefore referred to as Lyme arthritis. The deer tick, Ixodes scapularis, was associated with the transmission of the disease in 1977, but the cause of the disease remained unknown until Willy Burgdorferi discovered Borrelia burgdorferi in 1981. The disease is caused by three species of bacteria all belonging to Borrelia-Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii. Borrelia burgdorferi is the main cause of Lyme disease in North America, where the other two species affect Europe.
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Legend/credit: Electron micrograph of the Ebola Zaire virus. This was the first photo ever taken of the virus, on 10/13/1976. By Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, then at the CDC.
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Borrelia burgdorferi Description and Structure
Borrelia burgdorferi is a Gram-negative bacterium belonging to the class Spirochaetes. This bacterium is helical and has both an inner and outer membrane as well as a flexible cell wall. The cell is usually 1m wide, but can be up to 10-25 m long. Bacteria of the class spirochaetes have flagella located on the inside of the periplasm in between the inner and outer membranes. The flagellum along with the helical structure of the bacterium allows the bacterium to migrate through viscous fluids and burrow through various tissues. As a result, this cell is highly invasive. B. burgdorferi is also known for its outer surface proteins OspA and OspC have been studied extensively and have a role in transmission of the bacteria into the host cell.
The metabolism of this cell is limited, therefore; B. burgdorferi relies on their host for energy precursors. Its genome encodes transport proteins such as ABC transporters. B. burgdorferi also codes for enzymes and proteins that are used in the phosphotransferase system. The host serum as well as the environment are targets for these transport systems. The genome of this bacterium is distinctive. It consists of one linear chromosome of 910,725 base pairs long with at least 17 linear and circular plasmids that combine to a size of more than 533,000 base pairs. As a result of its large number of plasmids, the genetic organization of B. burgdorferi is specialized.
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What is Lyme Disease?
Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.
Symptoms
Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.
Treatment
Overall paper length should be 3,000 words, with at least 3 figures.
Adhesion Mechanisms
Future Work
Concluding Remarks
References
Edited by student of Joan Slonczewski for BIOL 238 Microbiology, 2009, Kenyon College.
