Scientists Crack Lyme Disease’s Genetic Code, Paving the Way for Better Diagnosis and Treatment

Researchers have mapped the genomes of 47 Lyme disease bacteria strains, enabling more precise diagnosis and treatment. The study also reveals the bacteria’s ancient origins and their rapid adaptation mechanisms, providing vital insights as Lyme disease cases increase. A groundbreaking genetic analysis of Lyme disease bacteria has paved the way for more accurate diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.

By sequencing the genomes of 47 strains, researchers can now identify specific bacteria that cause the disease, allowing for more targeted interventions.

A genetic analysis of Lyme disease bacteria may pave the way for improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of the tick-borne ailment.

By mapping the complete genetic makeup of 47 strains of Lyme disease-causing bacteria from around the world, the international team has created a powerful resource for identifying the specific bacterial strains that infect patients. Researchers said this could enable more accurate diagnostic tests and treatments tailored to the exact type or types of bacteria causing each patient’s illness.

“This comprehensive, high-quality sequencing investigation of Lyme disease and related bacteria provides the foundation to propel the field forward,” said Steven Schutzer, a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School professor and coauthor of the study published in mBio. “Every modern research project — from clinical to public health to ecology and evolution to bacterial physiology to medical-tool development to host-bacteria interaction — will benefit from this work.

Researchers said the genetic information uncovered in this study — which explains how the bacteria evolves and spreads and the genes are essential for survival — may help scientists develop more effective vaccines against Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne illness in North America and Europe, impacting hundreds of thousands of people annually. This disease is caused by bacteria from the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, which are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. Symptoms often include fever, headache, fatigue, and a distinctive skin rash. Without treatment, the infection can progress, leading to more serious complications affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system.

Case numbers are increasing steadily, with 476,000 new cases each year in the US, and may grow faster with climate change, according to the researchers.

The research team sequenced the complete genomes of Lyme disease bacteria representing all 23 known species in the group. Most of these hadn’t been sequenced before this effort. The National Institutes of Health-funded project included multiple strains of the bacteria most commonly associated with human infections and species not previously known to cause disease in humans.

By comparing these genomes, the researchers reconstructed the evolutionary history of Lyme disease bacteria, tracing the origins back millions of years. They discovered the bacteria likely originated before the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Pangea, explaining the current worldwide distribution.

The study also revealed how these bacteria exchange genetic material within and between species. This process, known as recombination, allows the bacteria to evolve rapidly and adapt to new environments. The researchers identified specific hot spots in the bacterial genomes where this genetic exchange occurs most frequently, often involving genes that help the bacteria interact with their tick vectors and animal hosts.

“By understanding how these bacteria evolve and exchange genetic material, we’re better equipped to predict and respond to changes in their behavior, including potential shifts in their ability to cause disease in humans,” said Weigang Qiu, a professor of biology at City University of New York and senior author of the study.

Tools for Future Research and Combatting Lyme Disease To facilitate ongoing research, the team has developed web-based software tools (BorreliaBase.org) that allow scientists to compare Borrelia genomes and identify determinants of its ability to infect humans.

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to analyze more strains of Lyme disease bacteria, particularly from understudied regions. They also aim to investigate the functions of genes unique to disease-causing strains, which could reveal new targets for therapeutic interventions.

As factors such as climate change help Lyme disease expand its geographic range, this research provides valuable tools and insights for combating this rising public health threat.

“This is a seminal study, a body of work that provides researchers with data and tools going forward to better tailor treatment against all causes of Lyme disease and provides a framework toward similar approaches against other infectious diseases caused by pathogens,” said Benjamin Luft, the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

For more on this research, see Lyme Disease DNA Mapping: The Breakthrough That Could Revolutionize Treatment.

“Natural selection and recombination at host-interacting lipoprotein loci drive genome diversification of Lyme disease and related bacteria” by Saymon Akther, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Richard D. Morgan, Lia Di, Xiaohua Yang, Maryna Golovchenko, Natalie Rudenko, Gabriele Margos, Sabrina Hepner, Volker Fingerle, Hiroki Kawabata, Ana Cláudia Norte, Isabel Lopes de Carvalho, Maria Sofia Núncio, Adriana Marques, Steven E. Schutzer, Claire M. Fraser, Benjamin J. Luft, Sherwood R. Casjens and Weigang Qiu, 15 August 2024, mBio.

Other scientists among the study’s 20 authors were Claire Fraser and Emmanuel Mongodin of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Sherwood Casjens of the University of Utah School of Medicine. The research was also supported by the Steve and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

My dad was a Licensed Professional Land Surveyor and before that a Civil Engineer. He worked for multiple companies, oil as well as land surveyor companies, in which he and a group of men would go out and do land survey jobs.

East and Deep East Texas is one hot, nearly unbearable territory in the summertime that resembles a jungle, rife with spiders, thick thorny vines, thorn trees, snakes and a wonderful assortment of insects that bite, sting and will inject an organism into you that can eventually cause your death.

My daddy was bitten by ticks and chiggers imbedded themselves into the entire of his frame so many times it was unreal. One time he had to soak in a light solution of bleach and warm water to kill them. His skin peeled a bit I think but it did the trick.

His symptoms started as joint pain, then degenerative osteoarthritis, then a hand tremor, a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease including peripheral artery disease, crazy rashes, Type II diabetes and then late-onset Parkinson’s of a specific subtype. Despite all of this his mind was nearly as sharp as a tack until The Lord Jesus took him and my beloved mom Home within hours of each other.

He had also lost most of his hearing, becoming profoundly deaf and with that, depression set in. He could not interact nor be involved / understand conversations and writing notes and getting him used to basic hand signals was the new norm he didn’t want but had to live with. Thank God for subtitles on TV so he could watch news and shows.

Pain became unbearable but he was so mentally strong it was a testament to how God forged this man, my dad, into the unshakable wall and the believer in The Lord Jesus Christ and disciple that he, and my mom, were.

I firmly believe that the whole process started with tick and chigger bites.
But understand, homeopathy has been around for a very, very long time and there are treatments and yes, CURES for diseases and disorders.

I know my mom was giving him every remedy she could find that meets the symptoms and same = same ratio formula homeopathically. Did you know that the stronger forms of one remedy, say, Arnica Montana, and others, at 1M as opposed to 30c here in The States, are sourced in the UK?

Elixirs.com is one site, and for info on what to use to treat something, Dr. Homeo is a good site to research pretty much anything.

I think the only thing that kept the bugs off my dad was Skin So Soft (Avon). They hate it.

He was also exposed to DEET, RoundUp, Diazinon, Sevin Dust and a gastroenterologist had him on Reglan for quite a while. He got Tardive Dyskinesia.

I ended up with that when I had to taper oft an anxiety medication and switch to another. But I also was put on Reglan (and I never had slow gastric emptying problems, just needed to modify my diet). Carbidopa / Levodopa for a while (2 years) for me. My jaw was chomping and I was going insane. Insomnia and Restless Leg Syndrome resulted from the anxiety med (alprazolam) I tapered slowly off of, my neurologist said it caused deep brain damage.

I thank The Lord Jesus every day for the medical implant that keeps me alive. I thank him that I am on medication that keeps the RLS in check and my mind from cratering, and I can sleep.

And Praise The Lord, nicotine is out of the picture for good. Asking prayer that my beloved husband will wake no longer addicted or desiring to light up again.

Have a simply Blessed snd Beautiful pre-Fall day, my beloved fellow FReepers. Time for me to get ready for church.

The bacterium that causes Lyme disease is at least 60,000 years old and existed long before the U.S. bioweapons program. Scientists have observed suspected cases of Lyme disease in several locations well before the first identified case of the disease in the 1970s, including in a 5,000-year-old mummy near the Austria-Italy border.

Lyme disease became endemic in the U.S. in the 1970s because of suburbanization and a warming climate, which increased both ticks carrying the Lyme disease bacterium and the number of animals, such as the white-tailed deer, on which the ticks feed. Humans also began living closer to these animal populations, spurring the disease to spread more rapidly.

Experts also said Lyme disease would make a poor bioweapon because of its low fatality rate and its transmission through ticks.

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