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Lyme disease agent borrows a practical coat

The bacterium that causes Lyme disease is a manipulative creature. This pathogen exploits a component in the saliva of its vector, a tick, to facilitate invasion of vertebrate hosts.

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Figure 1: Ventral view of a live Ixodes scapularis tick.

Courtesy of Utpal Pal and Erol Fikrig, Yale University

Figure 2: Tick salivary protein binds and protects Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi.

Katie Ris

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Rosa, P. Lyme disease agent borrows a practical coat. Nat Med 11, 831–832 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0805-831

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