Borrelia burgdorferi has a very small genome. It is about ¼ the size of the genome for Escherichia coli (a common bacteria) or the tuberculosis bacteria or less than 1/1000 the size of the human genome. As a result, B. burgdorferi is unable to perform many essential processes for itself and is dependent upon the host for supplying critical substances it is unable to make for itself. We are trying to map the functions that B. burgdorferi can and cannot perform for itself in hopes of identifying unique vulnerabilities of the organism that could be targeted for treatments.
Watch Dr. Peter Gwynn describe his work on B. burgdorferi metabolic mapping here: