Analysis of the BadR regulon in Borrelia burgdorferi

To investigate the genes regulated by BadR in Borrelia burgdorferi, a badR knockout was generated by homologous recombination. The badR mutant and wild-type strains were cultivated in vitro under conditions mimicking the unfed tick and mammalian host. Under mammalian host conditions, cells were collected at two growth phases to determine if BadR regulates genes in a growth-phase dependent manner.

为探究伯氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia burgdorferi）中受BadR调控的基因，研究人员通过同源重组技术构建了badR基因敲除菌株。将该badR突变株与野生型菌株置于体外，于模拟未吸血蜱虫与哺乳动物宿主的培养条件下进行培养。在模拟哺乳动物宿主的培养环境中，研究人员于两个不同生长阶段收集菌体，以研判BadR是否以生长阶段依赖的方式调控基因表达。