OspC Diversity in Borrelia Burgdorferi: Different Hosts Are Different Niches

Overview

Journal Genetics

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Genetics

Date 2004 Oct 30

PMID 15514047

Citations 163

Authors

Dustin Brisson

Daniel E Dykhuizen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The outer surface protein C (ospC) locus of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, is at least an order of magnitude more variable than other genes in the species. This variation is classified into 22 ospC major groups, 15 of which are found in the northeastern United States. The frequency distributions of ospC within populations suggest that this locus is under balancing selection. In multiple-niche polymorphism, a type of balancing selection, diversity within a population can be maintained when the environment is heterogeneous and no one genotype has the highest fitness in all environments. Genetically different individuals within vertebrate species and different vertebrate species constitute diverse environments for B. burgdorferi. We examined four important host species of B. burgdorferi and found that the strains that infected each species had different sets of ospC major groups. We found no variation among conspecific hosts in the ospC major groups of their infecting strains. These results suggest multiple niches create balancing selection at the ospC locus.

Citing Articles

Do white-footed mice, the main reservoir of the Lyme disease pathogen in the United States, clinically respond to the borrelial tenancy?.

Rogovskyy A, Pliasas V, Buhrer R, Lewy K, Wiener D, Jung Y Infect Immun. 2024; 92(12):e0038224.

PMID: 39535189 PMC: 11629617. DOI: 10.1128/iai.00382-24.

A single immunization of -infected mice with Vanguard crLyme elicits robust antibody responses to diverse strains and variants of outer surface protein C.

Chambers G, Chambers K, Marconi R Infect Immun. 2024; 92(11):e0039624.

PMID: 39436053 PMC: 11556006. DOI: 10.1128/iai.00396-24.

Whole-genome sequencing of Western Canadian spp. collected from diverse tick and animal hosts reveals short-lived local genotypes interspersed with longer-lived continental genotypes.

Russell J, Lee M, Uyaguari-Diaz M, Sies A, Suchan D, Hsiao W Microb Genom. 2024; 10(8).

PMID: 39093316 PMC: 11296321. DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.001276.

Population dynamics of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, during rapid range expansion in New York State.

Oppler Z, Prusinski M, OKeeffe K, Pearson P, Rich S, Falco R Mol Ecol. 2024; 33(16):e17480.

PMID: 39034651 PMC: 11303095. DOI: 10.1111/mec.17480.

Draft whole-genome sequences of three isolates from Western Canada.

Haidl T, Lee M, Workman S, Russell J, Fraser E, Morshed M Microbiol Resour Announc. 2024; 13(2):e0087923.

PMID: 38179914 PMC: 10868169. DOI: 10.1128/mra.00879-23.

References

Seinost G, Dykhuizen D, Dattwyler R, Golde W, Dunn J, Wang I . Four clones of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto cause invasive infection in humans. Infect Immun. 1999; 67(7):3518-24. PMC: 116539. DOI: 10.1128/IAI.67.7.3518-3524.1999. View

May G, Shaw F, Badrane H, Vekemans X . The signature of balancing selection: fungal mating compatibility gene evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999; 96(16):9172-7. PMC: 17752. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.16.9172. View

Eggers C, Samuels D . Molecular evidence for a new bacteriophage of Borrelia burgdorferi. J Bacteriol. 1999; 181(23):7308-13. PMC: 103694. DOI: 10.1128/JB.181.23.7308-7313.1999. View

Schmidt K, Ostfeld R, Schauber E . Infestation of Peromyscus leucopus and Tamias striatus by Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in relation to the abundance of hosts and parasites. J Med Entomol. 1999; 36(6):749-57. DOI: 10.1093/jmedent/36.6.749. View

Schwan T, Piesman J . Temporal changes in outer surface proteins A and C of the lyme disease-associated spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, during the chain of infection in ticks and mice. J Clin Microbiol. 2000; 38(1):382-8. PMC: 88728. DOI: 10.1128/JCM.38.1.382-388.2000. View

Brunet J, Mundt C . Disease, frequency-dependent selection, and genetic polymorphisms: experiments with stripe rust and wheat. Evolution. 2000; 54(2):406-15. DOI: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2000.tb00043.x. View

Uyenoyama M . Evolutionary dynamics of self-incompatibility alleles in Brassica. Genetics. 2000; 156(1):351-9. PMC: 1461253. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/156.1.351. View

Schierup M, Vekemans X, Charlesworth D . The effect of subdivision on variation at multi-allelic loci under balancing selection. Genet Res. 2000; 76(1):51-62. DOI: 10.1017/s0016672300004535. View

Eggers C, Casjens S, Hayes S, Garon C, Damman C, Oliver D . Bacteriophages of spirochetes. J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol. 2000; 2(4):365-73. View

10.

Johns R, Ohnishi J, Broadwater A, Sonenshine D, de Silva A, Hynes W . Contrasts in tick innate immune responses to Borrelia burgdorferi challenge: immunotolerance in Ixodes scapularis versus immunocompetence in Dermacentor variabilis (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol. 2001; 38(1):99-107. DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-38.1.99. View

11.

Uyenoyama M, Zhang Y, Newbigin E . On the origin of self-incompatibility haplotypes: transition through self-compatible intermediates. Genetics. 2001; 157(4):1805-17. PMC: 1461586. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/157.4.1805. View

12.

Baranton G, Seinost G, Theodore G, Postic D, Dykhuizen D . Distinct levels of genetic diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi are associated with different aspects of pathogenicity. Res Microbiol. 2001; 152(2):149-56. DOI: 10.1016/s0923-2508(01)01186-x. View

13.

Dykhuizen D, Baranton G . The implications of a low rate of horizontal transfer in Borrelia. Trends Microbiol. 2001; 9(7):344-50. DOI: 10.1016/s0966-842x(01)02066-2. View

14.

Piesman J, Happ C . The efficacy of co-feeding as a means of maintaining Borrelia burgdorferi: a North American model system. J Vector Ecol. 2002; 26(2):216-20. View

15.

Qiu W, Dykhuizen D, Acosta M, Luft B . Geographic uniformity of the Lyme disease spirochete (Borrelia burgdorferi) and its shared history with tick vector (Ixodes scapularis) in the Northeastern United States. Genetics. 2002; 160(3):833-49. PMC: 1462027. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/160.3.833. View

16.

Shih C, Chao L . Genetic analysis of the outer surface protein C gene of Lyme disease spirochaetes (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) isolated from rodents in Taiwan. J Med Microbiol. 2002; 51(4):318-325. DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-51-4-318. View

17.

Lin T, Oliver Jr J, Gao L . Genetic diversity of the outer surface protein C gene of southern Borrelia isolates and its possible epidemiological, clinical, and pathogenetic implications. J Clin Microbiol. 2002; 40(7):2572-83. PMC: 120588. DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.7.2572-2583.2002. View

18.

LoGiudice K, Ostfeld R, Schmidt K, Keesing F . The ecology of infectious disease: effects of host diversity and community composition on Lyme disease risk. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003; 100(2):567-71. PMC: 141036. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0233733100. View

19.

Ostfeld R, Schauber E, Canham C, Keesing F, Jones C, Wolff J . Effects of acorn production and mouse abundance on abundance and Borrelia burgdorferi infection prevalence of nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2003; 1(1):55-63. DOI: 10.1089/153036601750137688. View

20.

Goodwin B, Ostfeld R, Schauber E . Spatiotemporal variation in a Lyme disease host and vector: black-legged ticks on white-footed mice. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2003; 1(2):129-38. DOI: 10.1089/153036601316977732. View