Abstract

Previously, we have shown that the transcription of p35 , a lipoprotein gene of Borrelia burgdorferi , is upregulated or initiated during the post-logarithmic bacterial growth phase in vitro. To identify potential regulatory factors, we examined the formation of DNA-protein complexes by electromobility shift assay, using a 157-bp DNA fragment that spans the p35 promoter region and cell-free extracts of spirochetes harvested from both logarithmic and stationary growth phases. The binding properties of the extracts with the promoter region of the flaB gene, a constitutively expressed, growth-phase-independent gene, were also compared. The results from these experiments demonstrate that B. burgdorferi stationary-phase cell-free extracts have a growth-phase-dependent DNA binding protein that interacts specifically with the p35 promoter region. We show, in addition, that a segment from the 157-bp p35 promoter region which contains both a T-rich stretch and an inverted repeat is able to compete off the stationary-phase-specific complex when the segment is present in molar excess.