Fig. 3.

BB0268 has Hfq-like activity in E. coli. hfq-1 mutant strains containing an rpoS::lacZ translational fusion and carrying the indicated plasmids were assayed for total β-galactosidase activity. pBADHfq expresses E. coli Hfq under control of the araBAD promoter. pBAD24 is the empty araBAD vector. pBAD268 and pBAD260 have the B. burgdorferi bb0268 and bb0260 ORFs under the control of the araBAD promoter. Cultures were grown at 30 C either with (black bars) or without (gray bars) 150 μM arabinose and samples were taken at various times during logarithmic growth. Total β-galactosidase activity was determined as described by Miller (1972). Three independent experiments with BB0260 and five independent experiments with BB0268 were performed and yielded similar results.