FIG. 5.

Influence of serum deprivation on Bdr production patterns. B. burgdorferi B31MI (A) or 297 (B) were cultivated in the absence of added rabbit serum for either 0, 24, or 48 h (indicated above each lane). Identical immunoblots of B. burgdorferi B31MI were screened with the anti-BdrD, anti-BdrE, anti-BdrF₃, or anti-Bdr antiserum as indicated above the lanes. The arrows in panel B indicate the migration positions of Bdr paralogs that were upregulated by serum starvation in isolate 297. (C) Immunoblot analyses of the Fla protein in isolates B31MIpc and 297 that were subjected to serum deprivation for the times (in hours) indicated over the lanes. This control demonstrates that the production of the normally constitutively expressed Fla protein is not affected by serum deprivation.