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Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1997 Jul;179(13):4285–4291. doi: 10.1128/jb.179.13.4285-4291.1997

Characterization of cp18, a naturally truncated member of the cp32 family of Borrelia burgdorferi plasmids.

B Stevenson 1, S Casjens 1, R van Vugt 1, S F Porcella 1, K Tilly 1, J L Bono 1, P Rosa 1
PMCID: PMC179251  PMID: 9209045

Abstract

We have mapped the genes encoding the antigenic lipoproteins OspE and OspF to an approximately 18-kb circular plasmid in Borrelia burgdorferi N40. Sequencing and restriction mapping have revealed that this plasmid, cp18, is homologous to an 18-kb region of the cp32 circular plasmids found in the Lyme disease spirochetes. Our data show that cp18 may have arisen from an ancestral cp32 plasmid by deletion of a 14-kb region of DNA, indicating that a significant portion of the cp32 plasmid is not essential in cis for plasmid maintenance. These findings suggest that a relatively small recombinant plasmid capable of being stably maintained in B. burgdorferi could be constructed from a cp32 plasmid.

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Selected References

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