E3 -- Odds/Ends

What is our microbe of the day?

Borrelia Burgdorferi

What is Borrelia Burgdorferi the causitive agent of?

Lyme disease

What are some fast facts about Borrelia Burgdorferi?

Gram -, Spirochete, Periplasmic flagellum, exclusively ferments (lactic acid), generates biofilms, generates slowly (8-12 hrs)

TRUE or FALSE — Borrelia Burgdorferi was one of the first three microbes to have its genome sequenced?

TRUE !

What is weird about Borrelia Burgdorferi’s chromosome?

It isn’t circular, they have 22 linear chromosomes

TRUE or FALSE — Despite being G-, Borrelia Burgdorferi does NOT have Lipopolysacchardies (LPS), instead it has a variety of Lipoproteins

TRUE !

TRUE or FALSE — Borrelia Burgdorferi can synthesize a LOT of stuff!

FALSE !

What are some things Borrelia Burgdorferi can NOT synthesize?

AA’s, Fatty acids, Nucleotides, Enzyme Cofactors, numerous Metabolic Components

Because Borrelia Burgdorferi isn’t able to synthesize so much stuff, what are three results?

It often steals resources from its host organism

It cannot live without a host

It grows very slowly and gains energy exclusively from lactic acid fermentation

What are the two most prominent vectors for Borrelia Burgdorferi?

Ixodes tick species and white-footed mice

TRUE or FALSE — You can get lyme disease from dog ticks

FALSE ! Only deer ticks…

TRUE or FALSE — Parent ticks infect nymphs

FALSE !

How to Ixodes nymphs contract Borrelia burgdorferi? Why is this relevant?

They must get it from reservoirs (white-footed mice)

A small subsection of Ixodes ticks carry B. burgdorferi (10% scapularis, 1-5% pacificus)

TRUE or FALSE — Humans are reservoirs for B. burgdorferi?

FALSE ! Humans are accidental hosts (infected, but cannot transmit it)

Risk factors (who + when)?

Boys 5-15 yo

June/July (& May/August, but less so)

What is the timeline of transmission?

Ticks feed for 3-5 days

Infection takes 36-48 days

What are the steps of transmission?

BB expresses outer surface protein, OspA

BB senses warm blood, OspC is expressed instead of OspA

BB replicates inside of host (tick/mouse), invades gut wall

BB spreads from tick salivary glands into human host (Day 3)

When do Early Localized Infections take place?

3-32 days after the initial bite

What are symptoms of Early Localized Infections?

Erythema Chronicum Migrans (EM) = ‘Bullseye Rash’

Flu-like symptoms

TRUE or FALSE — 10% of people show Erythema Chronicum Migrams (EM) / Bullseye rash

TRUE !

When do Early Dissemenated Infections take place?

Days-Weeks after localization

What are symptoms of Early Dissemenated Infections?

EM (Erythma Chronicum Migrams) spreads to other body areas

Neuroborreliosis (facial palsy, shooting pains, meningitis, mild encephalitis)

When do Late Dissemenated Infections occur?

Several months after infection

What are symptoms of Late Dissemenated Infections?

Permanent motor/sensory impairment, polyneuropathy, insomnia, personality changes, lyme encephalopathy, and chronic encepathylomyelitis, general sickness

How does antigenic variation help spirochese bacteria?

It helps them change their surface proteins (OspA → OspC → VlsE), allowing them to evade the host immune system

What 2 agents inhibit Borellia Burgdorferi growth?

Doxycycline and Amoxycillin (in high [ ]’s)

TRUE or FALSE — B. burgdorferi can shed its peptidoglycan?

TRUE !

How can B. burgdorferi shed its peptidoglycan?

It is a trisaccharide and is made of NAG-NAG-NAM

It can fragment its peptidoglycan and shed it into the environment, it can persist long after the bacteria is gone

TRUE or FALSE — Treating Lyme disease with antibiotics increases QOL?

FALSE !

How is Lyme disease detected/diagnosed?

Clinical testing, immunoblot testing (a few weeks out, patients become seropositive)

If it spreads to the joints, you can run a PCR on the sinovial fluid to detect it

TRUE or FALSE — Lyme disease treatments are more effective if they’re done early on

TRUE !

How to treat stages 1-2 of Lyme disease?

2-4 weeks (Doxycycline for adults, Amoxycillin for kids)

How to treat Late Stage Lyme (Arthritis)

Doxycycline or Amoxycillin treatments for 4 weeks

How to treat neurological effects of Lyme

Intravenous cephalosporin therapy

What does Dr. Kathryn Mulligan-Myhre study?

She studies the potential of Alaskan Threespine Sticklebacks gut bacteria to degrade plastic in cold water conditions

What are the two kinds of stickleback?

Anadromous and Freshwater

What’s the difference between Anadromous and Freshwater fish?

A — Larger, live in marine and spawn in freshwater

F — Smaller, live exclusively in freshwater

Why work with stickleback fish?

Lots of genetic diversity, they’re thoroughly studied and described, they produce lots of eggs

TRUE or FALSE — Sticklebacks are selecting for specific microbes in their microbiomes

TRUE !

TRUE or FAlSE — After drought conditions, sticklebag microbiomes did not change

FALSE — The biodiversity of their microbiomes did not change, but their respective roles/jobs became more similar

What’s the difference between Benthic and Limnetic lakes?

They provide different food sources (B- insects // L- zooplankton)

What are the two biggest lake contaiminants in Alaska?

Crude oil and plastic

What are the steps of bacteria breaking down plastic?

1. Boifilm formation

2. Release of lipase and esterase

3. Plastic breakdown!

What bacteria is able to break down plastic?

KM 195

TRUE or FALSE — KM 195 inhibits KM 191’s plastic-breaking abilities?

FALSE ! KM191 inhibits KM195

TRUE or FALSE — 195 outcompetes 191 in nutrient-rich broth

TRUE !

TRUE or FALSE — 195 outcompetes 191 in nutrient-poor broth

FALSE ! They grow at equivalent pace

TRUE or FALSE — Nutrients impact colony morphology

TRUE ! Nutrient availability impacts phenotypes