Abstract
Objective To employ Borrelia burgdorferi(B.burgdorferi), a culturable and genetically transformable spirochete, as a surrogate system to study Treponema pallidum (T.pallidum) gene function. Methods Bioinformatic analysis revealed that the T. pallidum gene tp0111 encodes the putative sigma factor RpoN. We constructed a B. burgdorferi shuttle vector harboring tp0111.The shuttle vector was then transformed into the B. burgdorferi rpoN mutant strain. The phenotype of the resulting B. burgdorferi strain was then determined. Results We successfully constructed the B. burgdorferi rpoN mutant carrying the T. pallidum gene tp0111. We found that tp0111 could partially complement the B. burgdorferi rpoN mutant. Conclusion This work provides the first experimental evidence showing that tp0111 is the rpoN gene of T. pallidum. It also demonstrates that B. burgdorferi can be used as a surrogate system for studying T. pallidum gene function. Key words: Treponema pallidum; Borrelia burgdorferi; Shuttle vector; Gene regulation
Published Version
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