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Title: GROEL EXPRESSION IN GYRB MUTANTS OF BORRELIA BURGDORFERI

Author
item Alverson, Janet
item SAMUELS, D.SCOTT - UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA

Submitted to: Journal of Bacteriology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/21/2002
Publication Date: 11/1/2002
Citation: ALVERSON, J., SAMUELS, D. GROEL EXPRESSION IN GYRB MUTANTS OF BORRELIA BURGDORFERI. JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY. Nov., 2002. v. 184. no. 21. p.6069-6072.

Interpretive Summary: Lyme disease is a multisystem disorder of humans and animals caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. We observed the synthesis of a heat shock protein, subsequently identified as GroEL, and its gene transcript to be increased in a DNA gyrase-defective strain of B. burgdorferi. The gene for GroEL is on the linear chromosome of this bacterium. We demonstrated that this up-regulation of groEL was due to a relaxation in DNA supercoiling. This is significant because it is the first demonstration of gene regulation by DNA supercoiling in a linear molecule in a bacterium. This research is of benefit to the scientific and medical communities investigating mechanisms of bacterial gene regulation and the pathogenesis of this important bacterial disease.

Technical Abstract: GroEL protein and groEL mRNA transcript were up-regulated in gyrB mutants of Borrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of Lyme disease. Furthermore, the protein and transcript levels in gyrB mutants were greater than in experimentally heat-shocked cultures of wild type B. burgdorferi. Circular DNA in the gyrB mutants was more relaxed than in wild type cells, although groEL is on the linear chromosome of B. burgdorferi. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence for the effect of DNA topology on gene expression from a linear DNA molecule in a bacterium.