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Journal of Bacteriology, April 2000, p. 2037-2042, Vol. 182, No. 7
Departments of Microbiology and
Immunology1 and
Pathology,2 New York Medical
College, Valhalla, New York 10595
Received 6 July 1999/Accepted 4 January 2000
BmpA, BmpB, BmpC, and BmpD are homologous Borrelia
burgdorferi lipoproteins of unknown functions, encoded by the
bmp genes of paralogous chromosomal gene family 36. At
least some of the Bmp proteins are immunogens in infected vertebrate
hosts. The genetic organization of the bmp region has been
characterized for a variety of B. burgdorferi sensu lato
strains by Southern hybridization, PCR amplification, and DNA
sequencing. All four bmp genes were present in the same
relative order in all B. burgdorferi sensu lato low- and
high-passage-number isolates. While there were no differences in the
relative orders of the bmp genes in these species,
variations in DNA sequence in the bmpD-bmpC and bmpC-bmpA intergenic regions were significantly more common
than in the corresponding 3' bmpD and bmpC
coding regions. The genetic structure of the chromosomal region
containing the bmp genes thus appears to be well conserved
across different species of B. burgdorferi, but variations
in DNA fine structure that prevent PCR primer annealing may occur in
this region and make Southern hybridization much more reliable than PCR
for detection of the presence of these genes. Our results also suggest
that bmp gene products may be used as reagents in the
preparation of vaccines and diagnostic assays to protect against and
diagnose Lyme disease produced by B. burgdorferi sensu lato.
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Analysis of the bmp Gene Family in Borrelia
burgdorferi Sensu Lato
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Basic Science Building, Valhalla, NY 10595-1690. Phone: (914) 594-4182. Fax: (914)
594-4176. E-mail: Cabello{at}nymc.edu.
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