Spirochete Biology in the Host and in the Wild

Spirochetes constitute a deeply-branching phylum of bacteria originally defined by their helical or sinusoidal shape, double membrane ultrastructure, and periplasmic flagella. The agents of Lyme disease, syphilis, leptospirosis, relapsing fever, periodontal disease, and intestinal spirochetosis pose enormous and growing global threats to human and animal health. Pathogenic spirochetes are renowned for their ability to rapidly disseminate and cause extensive tissue damage by eliciting inflammatory responses, and to establish persistent infection. To reflect the diversity of research in the spirochete world, the 2018 BoS GRC has an exciting program that will cover topics from fundamental aspects to the research frontiers of spirochete biology. The conference will include presentations on ecology, evolution, epidemiology, genomics, pathogenic mechanisms/virulence attributes, and the role of the host immune response in clearance and in pathogenesis.