Functional Genomics of Lyme Disease Pathogenesis
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
The New York Academy of Sciences
Presented By
Presented by the Microbiology Section
Speaker: Ira Schwartz, New York Medical College
Lyme disease, the most common arthropod-borne disease in the United States, is caused by infection with the spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. The acute stage of the infection has a varied presentation, ranging from mild, localized disease (characterized by a skin rash) to severe, disseminated disease. We hypothesize that this is due to B. burgdorferi genotypic variation and have identified both highly invasive and attenuated clinical isolates. Genomic, proteomic, and animal model studies are underway to elucidate the differences in genome content and gene expression that result in disease variability.