The Characterization of a Gonococcal HicAB Toxin-Antitoxin System Capable of Causing Bacteriostatic Growth Arrest.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea. Preventative vaccines or novel treatments based on a better understanding of the molecular basis of N. gonorrhoeae infection are required as resistance to current antibiotics is widespread. Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems modulate bacterial physiology by interfering with vital cellular processes; type II TA systems, where both toxin and antitoxin are proteins, are the best-studied. Bioinformatics analysis revealed genes encoding an uncharacterized type II HicAB TA system in the N. gonorrhoeae strain FA1090 chromosome, which were also present in >83% of the other gonococcal genome sequences examined. Gonococcal HicA overproduction inhibited bacterial growth in Escherichia coli,

SUBMITTER: Bagabas SS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12297915 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature