The bacterial pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease and is transmitted to humans through an Ixodes tick vector. B. burgdorferi is able to survive in both mammalian and tick hosts through careful modulation of its gene expression. This allows B. burgdorferi to adapt to the environmental and nutritional changes that occur when it is transmitted between the two hosts. Distinct interactions between the spirochete and its host occur at every step of the enzootic cycle and dictate the ability of the spirochete to survive until the next stage of the cycle. Studying the interface between B. burgdorferi, the Ixodes tick vector and the natural mammalian reservoirs has been made significantly more feasible through the complete genome sequences of the organisms and the advent of high throughput screening technologies. Ultimately, a thorough investigation of the interplay between the two domains (and two phyla within one domain) is necessary in order to completely understand how the pathogen is transmitted.

中文翻译：

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伯氏疏螺旋体与其宿主在地方性动物周期中的相互作用

细菌病原体伯氏疏螺旋体是莱姆病的病原体，并通过硬蜱媒介传播给人类。通过仔细调节其基因表达， B. burgdorferi能够在哺乳动物和蜱宿主中存活。这使得B. burgdorferi能够适应在两个宿主之间传播时发生的环境和营养变化。螺旋体与其宿主之间的不同相互作用发生在地方动物循环的每一步，并决定了螺旋体存活到循环下一阶段的能力。研究B. burgdorferi , Ixodes之间的界面通过生物体的完整基因组序列和高通量筛选技术的出现，蜱虫载体和天然哺乳动物水库变得更加可行。最终，为了完全了解病原体的传播方式，有必要对两个域（以及一个域内的两个门）之间的相互作用进行彻底调查。