Intracellular Concentrations of Borrelia burgdorferi Cyclic Di-AMP Are Not Changed by Altered Expression of the CdaA Synthase

Christina R Savage; William K Arnold; Alexandra Gjevre-Nail; Benjamin J Koestler; Eric L Bruger; Jeffrey R Barker; Christopher M Waters; Brian Stevenson

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125440

Intracellular Concentrations of Borrelia burgdorferi Cyclic Di-AMP Are Not Changed by Altered Expression of the CdaA Synthase

PLoS One. 2015 Apr 23;10(4):e0125440. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125440. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Christina R Savage¹, William K Arnold¹, Alexandra Gjevre-Nail¹, Benjamin J Koestler², Eric L Bruger², Jeffrey R Barker³, Christopher M Waters², Brian Stevenson¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America.
² Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America.
³ Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.

Abstract

The second messenger nucleotide cyclic diadenylate monophosphate (c-di-AMP) has been identified in several species of Gram positive bacteria and Chlamydia trachomatis. This molecule has been associated with bacterial cell division, cell wall biosynthesis and phosphate metabolism, and with induction of type I interferon responses by host cells. We demonstrate that B. burgdorferi produces a c-di-AMP synthase, which we designated CdaA. Both CdaA and c-di-AMP levels are very low in cultured B. burgdorferi, and no conditions were identified under which cdaA mRNA was differentially expressed. A mutant B. burgdorferi was produced that expresses high levels of CdaA, yet steady state borrelial c-di-AMP levels did not change, apparently due to degradation by the native DhhP phosphodiesterase. The function(s) of c-di-AMP in the Lyme disease spirochete remains enigmatic.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / genetics
Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
Borrelia burgdorferi / enzymology*
Borrelia burgdorferi / metabolism
Cyclic AMP / metabolism*
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / metabolism
Proteomics / methods

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
Cyclic AMP
Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases

Grants and funding

Funded by an exploratory grant from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine to B. Stevenson, and National Science Foundation grant MCB1253684 to CMW. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.