Lipid catabolism of relapsing fever borreliae

Relapsing fever borreliae require lipid compounds for growth in vitro. In this study, the major pathways of lipid catabolism in three species of tick-borne relapsing fever borreliae were investigated. Thin-layer chromatography was used to compare chloroform-methanol extracts of fresh culture media with extracts of exhausted culture media after organisms were removed by centrifugation. The chromatographic data demonstrated that lysolecithin was removed from the culture media during growth of the spirochetes, whereas lecithin, sphingomyelin, triglycerides, and cholesterol esters were not affected by growth of the organisms. Sonic extracts of the organism were tested for the presence of specific enzymes of lipid catabolism. Lysolecithinase, glycerophosphorylcholine diesterase, and acid phosphatase activities were demonstrated. Thus, these organisms can sequentially dissimilate lysolecithin to fatty acids, choline, inorganic phosphate, and glycerol. Assays for phospholipases A, C, and D, alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, and lipase were negative.