Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), a bacterial spirochete, is the causative agent for Lyme disease (LD). Exosomes contain fragmented DNA, nucleic acids and microRNAs (miRNA) and are present in numerous cell types across the body and in many bodily fluids, for these reasons they have gotten plenty of recognition as potential biomarkers (4–8). This work centers on a transcriptome analysis of the total RNA and the microRNA within exosomes to better understand the changing regulation at the genomic level. Another aspect of this study was molecular detection of B. burgdorferi by urine analysis to develop more non-invasive methods of detection to ease the diagnostic process. Therefore, canine urine analysis was complete to determine if a diagnosis of LD is possible. This study showed that the clustering phenomena had resulted from the exosome isolation procedure, showing that it was not specific enough to discern between other micro-vesicles and pulled some non-exosome bodies out of the solution. The RNA extracted from bovine exosomes demonstrated a low concentration and quality; therefore, the samples from mice were not used in the RNA extraction process. For the canine samples, it was seen that the melt curves showed DNA for a single species had amplified. Post PCR reamplification of the qPCR samples, positive bands for B. burgdorferi were produced, yet sequencing was unable to confirm the identity of all samples. Of the samples that were able to be sequenced, some did identify as B. burgdorferi. However, some amplicons were other species; further methodology optimization is needed. The detection techniques discussed in this study could be applied to veterinary care and perhaps in the future in human health care. Direction for future research in this field includes testing human urine for b. burgdorferi. With these resultsthe medical field could advance its testing strategies for Lyme Disease and be less invasive than previous testing methods
