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Concept
Borrelia burgdorferi
Summary
Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus Borrelia, and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it makes up the species complex of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. The complex currently comprises 20 accepted and 3 proposed genospecies. B. burgdorferi sensu stricto exists in North America and Eurasia and until 2016 was the only known cause of Lyme disease in North America. Borrelia species are Gram-negative.
Borrelia burgdorferi is named after the researcher Willy Burgdorfer, who first isolated the bacterium in 1982.
Borrelia burgdorferi is a microaerophile, requiring small amounts of oxygen in order to undergo glycolysis and survive. Like all other Borrelia sps., this bacterium is also gram-negative and a spirochete. Borrelia colonies are often smaller, rounded, and white with an elevated center. B. burgdorferi possesses flagella that allow it motility. It may be oxidase negative, but B. burgdorferi possesses a gene coding for superoxide dismutase. This protein inhibits the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The bacterium appears able to utilize many different monosaccharides for use in energy production.
B. burgdorferi resembles other spirochetes in that it has an outer membrane and inner membrane with a thin layer of peptidoglycan in between. It is characterized as having a flexible cell well and has cells that are long and cylindrical with them being roughly 1 micron wide. However, the outer membrane lacks lipopolysaccharide. Its shape is a flat wave. It is about 0.3 μm wide and 5 to 20 μm in length.
B. burgdorferi is a microaerobic, motile spirochete with seven to 11 bundled perisplasmic flagella set at each end that allow the bacterium to move in low- and high-viscosity media alike, which is related to its high virulence factor.
B. burgdorferi is a slow-growing microaerophilic spirochete with a doubling time of 24 to 48 hours.
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