Work

Genome flexibility in Neisseria meningitidis

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Neisseria meningitidis usually lives as a commensal bacterium in the upper airways of humans. However, occasionally some strains can also cause life-threatening diseases such as sepsis and bacterial meningitis. Comparative genomics demonstrates that only very subtle genetic differences between carriage and disease strains might be responsible for the observed virulence differences and that N. meningitidis is, evolutionarily, a very recent species. Comparative genome sequencing also revealed a panoply of genetic mechanisms underlying its enormous genomic flexibility which also might affect the virulence of particular strains. From these studies, N. meningitidis emerges as a paradigm for organisms that use genome variability as an adaptation to changing and thus challenging environments.

Source: Vaccine

DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.04.064

Authors: Christoph Schoen, Hervé Tettelin, Julian Parkhill, Matthias Frosch

Institutions: University of Würzburg, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Wellcome Sanger Institute

Language: English

Topic: Bacterial Infections and Vaccines

Subfield: Microbiology

Field: Immunology and Microbiology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,620