Quirky Lyme Disease Bacteria: Unlike Most Organisms, They Don’t Need Iron, but Crave Manganese
Mar. 21, 2013 — Scientists have confirmed that the pathogen that causes Lyme Disease — unlike any other known organism — can exist without iron, a metal that all other life needs to make proteins and enzymes. Instead of iron, the bacteria substitute manganese to make an essential enzyme, thus eluding immune system defenses that…