Electrotransformation of the Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi

Borrelia burgdorferi is an etiologic agent of Lyme disease, the most common arthropod-borne disease in the United States (,). The bacterium, a member of the spirochete phylum, has a genome predominantly composed of linear DNA molecules (,). Formulating a medium in which B. burgdorferi grows in vitro was the first step toward a genetic understanding of the physiology and pathogenesis of the organism (,). The growth of B. burgdorferi as single colonies in solid medium (, , ) has facilitated mutant isolation by selection (,), although a defined medium for selection of auxotrophs is not currently available. The transformation system described in this chapter will be useful for manipulating the spirochete on a molecular genetic level.