Osamudiamen Ebohon

Editor’s summary As the tick vector for Borrelia burgdorferi expands its range, more individuals are at increased risk of both acute Lyme disease (caused by B. burgdorferi infection) and postacute sequelae after Lyme disease. In a pair of papers, Gabby et al. and McClune et al. expand our knowledge of B. burgdorferi with the goal of combatting Lyme disease. Gabby et al. posited that antibiotics other than high-dose doxycycline may be able to specifically kill B. burgdorferi.

Editor’s summary As the tick vector for Borrelia burgdorferi expands its range, more individuals are at increased risk of both acute Lyme disease (caused by B. burgdorferi infection) and postacute sequelae after Lyme disease. In a pair of papers, Gabby et al. and McClune et al. expand our knowledge of B. burgdorferi with the goal of combatting Lyme disease. Gabby et al. posited that antibiotics other than high-dose doxycycline may be able to specifically kill B. burgdorferi.

Cross-species communication drives the coordination of diverse biological processes in complex systems. Rana et al. discovered that Ixodes scapularis, the tick vector of Lyme disease, produces a receptor that binds host interferon-gamma (IFNγ) in the blood meal, which orchestrates tick development, immunity, and vector competence.