FIG. 3.

Comparison of the glp (glycerol transport and metabolism) locus in B. hermsii and B. burgdorferi. Both species contain glpF (glycerol facilitator), glpK (glycerol kinase), and glpA (G3PDH). B. hermsii has glpQ (glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase) and glpT (G3P transporter). These genes are replaced in B. burgdorferi with a small ORF (BB0242) that matches nothing in the database. These results suggest that B. hermsii, but not B. burgdorferi, has the potential to acquire G3P through the catabolism of deacylated phospholipids and to use this G3P in glycolysis and the synthesis of new phospholipids.