Functional analysis of the Gonococcal Genetic Island of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an obligate human pathogen that is responsible for the sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhea. N. gonorrhoeae encodes a T4SS within the Gonococcal Genetic Island (GGI), which secretes ssDNA directly into the external milieu. Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) play a role in h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2014-10, Vol.9 (10), p.e109613
Main Authors: Pachulec, Emilia, Siewering, Katja, Bender, Tobias, Heller, Eva-Maria, Salgado-Pabon, Wilmara, Schmoller, Shelly K, Woodhams, Katelynn L, Dillard, Joseph P, van der Does, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Bacterial Secretion Systems - genetics
Biology and Life Sciences
Biosynthesis
Chromosome Mapping
Chromosomes
Comparative analysis
CpG Islands - genetics
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA Mutational Analysis
DNA, Bacterial - genetics
E coli
Effector cells
Functional analysis
Gammaproteobacteria - genetics
Gene transfer
Genes
Genes, Bacterial
Genetic analysis
Genomics
Gonorrhea
Human behavior
Humans
Immunology
Mutagenesis
Mutation
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Neisseria gonorrhoeae - genetics
Operon - genetics
Operons
Plasmids
Plasmids - metabolism
Secretion
Sexually transmitted diseases
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an obligate human pathogen that is responsible for the sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhea. N. gonorrhoeae encodes a T4SS within the Gonococcal Genetic Island (GGI), which secretes ssDNA directly into the external milieu. Type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) play a role in horizontal gene transfer and delivery of effector molecules into target cells. We demonstrate that GGI-like T4SSs are present in other β-proteobacteria, as well as in α- and γ-proteobacteria. Sequence comparison of GGI-like T4SSs reveals that the GGI-like T4SSs form a highly conserved unit that can be found located both on chromosomes and on plasmids. To better understand the mechanism of DNA secretion by N. gonorrhoeae, we performed mutagenesis of all genes encoded within the GGI, and studied the effects of these mutations on DNA secretion. We show that genes required for DNA secretion are encoded within the yaa-atlA and parA-parB regions, while genes encoded in the yfeB-exp1 region could be deleted without any effect on DNA secretion. Genes essential for DNA secretion are encoded within at least four different operons.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0109613