Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Journal of Bacteriology
Publication Date
8-2001
Volume
183
Issue
16
Disciplines
Biology | Life Sciences
Abstract
We previously described a bacteriophage of the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi designated phi BB-1. This phage packages the host complement of the 32-kb circular plasmids (cp32s), a group of homologous molecules found throughout the genus Borrelia. To demonstrate the ability of phi BB-1 to package and transduce DNA, a kanamycin resistance cassette was inserted into a cloned fragment of phage DNA, and the resulting construct was transformed into B. burgdorferi CA-11.2A cells. The kan cassette recombined into a resident cp32 and was stably maintained. The cp32 containing the kan cassette was packaged by phi BB-1 released from this B. burgdorferi strain. phi BB-1 has been used to transduce this antibiotic resistance marker into naive CA-11.2A cells, as well as two other strains of B. burgdorferi. This is the first direct evidence of a mechanism for lateral gene transfer in B. burgdorferi.
DOI
10.1128/JB.183.16.4771-4778.2001
Recommended Citation
Eggers, Christian H.; Kimmel, Betsy J.; Bono, James L.; Elias, Abdallah F.; Rosa, Patricia; and Samuels, D. Scott, "Transduction by Phi Bb-1, a Bacteriophage of Borrelia Burgdorferi" (2001). Biological Sciences Faculty Publications. 58.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/biosci_pubs/58