Dissociation of Infectivity and Pathogenicity in Borrelia burgdorferi

Clonal Borrelia burgdorferi N40 (cN40) passaged 75 times in vitro (N40-75) infects mice but does not cause disease. N40-75 passaged 45 times further in vitro (N40-120) was no longer infectious and lacked genes encoded on linear plasmids 38 and 28-1, among other differences. These data suggest that B. burgdorferi cN40, N40-75, and N40-120 have distinct phenotypes that can be used to dissect the genetic elements responsible for pathogenicity and infectivity.