The Borrelia burgdorferi transcriptional regulome

描述（由申请人提供）：所有生物，从细菌到人类，都需要“识别”它们所在的位置，并做出相应的反应。病原体必须感知其在感染周期中的位置，然后产生该位置所需的因子，同时抑制不适当因子的合成。这对于媒介传播的病原体尤其重要，例如莱姆病病原体伯氏疏螺旋体，它不仅必须感染两种非常不同类型的动物，而且必须在脊椎动物宿主和节肢动物媒介之间有效地来回传播。计划中的研究将两位伯氏疏螺旋体遗传学专家和一位生物信息学家专家聚集在一起，采用一种综合的系统方法，绘制伯氏疏螺旋体的调控网络。这些结果将对伯氏疏螺旋体生理学及其致病能力产生重要的见解，并且由于关键调控途径的破坏可以抑制病原体引起感染的能力，因此可以确定开发新型抗生素的战略目标。大量的衍生数据也将通过电子数据库公开提供，提供全球研究界可以随时挖掘的宝贵信息宝库。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): All organisms, from bacteria to humans, need to "recognize" where they are, and respond accordingly. A pathogen must sense its location in the infectious cycle, then produce factors necessary for that site while repressing synthesis of inappropriate factors. This is particularly important for vector-borne pathogens such as the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi, which must not only infect two very different types of animals, but efficiently transmit back-and-forth between vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors. The planned studies bring together two experts in B. burgdorferi genetics and an expert bioinformatician into an integrated, systems approach that will map the regulatory networks of B. burgdorferi. The results will yield significant insight on B. burgdorferi physiology, its ability t cause disease and, since disruption of key regulatory pathways can inhibit a pathogen's ability to cause infection, identify strategic targets for developing novel antibiotics. The substantial quantity of derived data will also be made publicly available through electronic databases, providing a treasury of valuable information that can be readily mined by the global research community.