Gene Regulation and Transcriptomics

• Published in: Current Issues in Molecular Biology Vol. 42; pp. 223 - 266
• Main Authors: Samuels, D. Scott, Lybecker, Meghan C., Yang, X. Frank, Ouyang, Zhiming, Bourret, Travis J., Boyle, William K., Stevenson, Brian, Drecktrah, Dan, Caimano, Melissa J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 2021
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Arthropod Vectors - microbiology; Borrelia burgdorferi - genetics; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genes, Bacterial; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Lyme Disease - microbiology; Lyme Disease - transmission; Ticks - microbiology; Transcriptome
• ISSN: 1467-3037; 1467-3045; 1467-3045
• DOI: 10.21775/cimb.042.223

( ) , along with closely related species, is the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. The spirochete subsists in an enzootic cycle that encompasses acquisition from a vertebrate host to a tick vector and transmission from a tick vector to a vertebrate host. To adapt to its environment and persist in each phase of its enzootic cycle, wields three systems to regulate the expression of genes: the RpoN-RpoS alternative sigma factor cascade, the Hk1/Rrp1 two-component system and its product c-di-GMP, and the stringent response mediated by Rel and DksA. These regulatory systems respond to enzootic phase-specific signals and are controlled or fine- tuned by transcription factors, including BosR and BadR, as well as small RNAs, including DsrABb and Bb6S RNA. In addition, several other DNA-binding and RNA-binding proteins have been identified, although their functions have not all been defined. Global changes in gene expression revealed by high-throughput transcriptomic studies have elucidated various regulons, albeit technical obstacles have mostly limited this experimental approach to cultivated spirochetes. Regardless, we know that the spirochete, which carries a relatively small genome, regulates the expression of a considerable number of genes required for the transitions between the tick vector and the vertebrate host as well as the adaptation to each.