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Journal of Bacteriology, December 1999, p. 7308-7313, Vol. 181, No. 23
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Molecular Evidence for a New Bacteriophage of Borrelia burgdorferi

Christian H. Eggers and D. Scott Samuels*

Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812

Received 26 July 1999/Accepted 23 September 1999

We have recovered a DNase-protected, chloroform-resistant molecule of DNA from the cell-free supernatant of a Borrelia burgdorferi culture. The DNA is a 32-kb double-stranded linear molecule that is derived from the 32-kb circular plasmids (cp32s) of the B. burgdorferi genome. Electron microscopy of samples from which the 32-kb DNA molecule was purified revealed bacteriophage particles. The bacteriophage has a polyhedral head with a diameter of 55 nm and appears to have a simple 100-nm-long tail. The phage is produced constitutively at low levels from growing cultures of some B. burgdorferi strains and is inducible to higher levels with 10 µg of 1-methyl-3-nitroso-nitroguanidine (MNNG) ml-1. In addition, the prophage can be induced with MNNG from some Borrelia isolates that do not naturally produce phage. We have isolated and partially characterized the phage associated with B. burgdorferi CA-11.2A. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular characterization of a bacteriophage of B. burgdorferi.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, 32 Campus Dr. #4824, Missoula, MT 59812-4824. Phone: (406) 243-6145. Fax: (406) 243-4304. E-mail: samuels{at}selway.umt.edu.

Journal of Bacteriology, December 1999, p. 7308-7313, Vol. 181, No. 23
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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