Genome-wide analysis of Borrelia turcica and 'Candidatus Borrelia tachyglossi' shows relapsing fever-like genomes with unique genomic links to Lyme disease Borrelia

Infection, Genetics and Evolution : Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases
Alexander W GoftonCharlotte L Oskam

Abstract

Borrelia are tick-borne bacteria that in humans are the aetiological agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever. Here we present the first genomes of B. turcica and B. tachyglossi, members of a recently described and rapidly expanding Borrelia clade associated with reptile (B. turcica) or echidna (B. tachyglossi) hosts, transmitted by hard ticks, and of unknown pathogenicity. Borrelia tachyglossi and B. turcica genomes are similar to those of relapsing fever Borrelia species, containing a linear ~ 900 kb chromosome, a single long (> 70 kb) linear plasmid, and numerous short (< 40 kb) linear and circular plasmids, as well as a suite of housekeeping and macronutrient biosynthesis genes which are not found in Lyme disease Borrelia. Additionally, both B. tachyglossi and B. turcica contain paralogous vsp and vlp proteins homologous to those used in the multiphasic antigen-switching system used by relapsing fever Borrelia to evade vertebrate immune responses, although their number was greatly reduced compared to human-infectious species. However, B. tachyglossi and B. turcica chromosomes also contain numerous genes orthologous to Lyme disease Borrelia-specific genes, demonstrating a unique evolutionary, and potentially phenotypic lin...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 27, 2018·PloS One·Gabriele MargosVolker Fingerle
Feb 15, 2019·BMC Evolutionary Biology·Agustín Estrada-Peña, Alejandro Cabezas-Cruz
Jan 8, 2020·BMC Genomics·Konstantin V KuleshovAlexander E Platonov
Apr 23, 2020·International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology·Gabriele MargosVolker Fingerle
Nov 5, 2019·Infection, Genetics and Evolution : Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases·Sabrina HepnerGabriele Margos
Oct 1, 2020·Infection, Genetics and Evolution : Journal of Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics in Infectious Diseases·Kayleigh R O'KeeffeDustin Brisson

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