groELExpression ingyrBMutants ofBorrelia burgdorferi

Abstract
GroEL protein andgroELmRNA transcript were up-regulated ingyrBmutants ofBorrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of Lyme disease. Furthermore, the protein and transcript levels ingyrBmutants were greater than those in experimentally heat-shocked cultures of wild-typeB. burgdorferi. Circular DNA in thegyrBmutants was more relaxed than in wild-type cells, althoughgroELis on the linear chromosome ofB. burgdorferi. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence, albeit indirect, for the effect of DNA topology on gene expression from a linear DNA molecule in a bacterium.