Borrelia burgdorferi genes, bb0639 ‐0642, encode a putative putrescine/spermidine transport system PotABCD that is spermidine specific and essential for cell survival

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Borrelia burgdorferi, Lyme disease agent, harbors no enzymes to synthesize or degrade polyamines yet does contain the genes encoding a putative polyamine uptake system (potABCD). Here, we demonstrated that the PotABCD is a spermidine‐specific transporter system that is essential for survival. The genes are upregulated during tick feeding concomitantly with the decrease of osmoliarity which has been shown to trigger virulence factor expression. The potABCD genes are regulated in a RpoN‐dependent, RpoS‐independent, BosR‐independent fashion.
Source: Molecular Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Research Article Source Type: research