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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Phage-Mediated Genetic Manipulation of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Published on: September 28, 2022
Bacteriophages of spirochetes
C H Eggers1, S Casjens, S F Hayes
1Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula 59812, USA.
Abstract:
Historically, a number of bacteriophage-like particles have been observed in association with members of the bacterial order Spirochetales, the spirochetes. In the last decade, several spirochete bacteriophages have been isolated and characterized at the molecular level. We have recently characterized a bacteriophage of the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, which we have designated phiBB-1. Here we review the history of the association between the spirochetes and their bacteriophages, with a particular emphasis on phiBB-1 and its prophage, the 32-kb circular plasmid family of B. burgdorferi.
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