Gene exchange between <i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> and <i>Neisseria gonorrhoeae</i>.

ABSTRACT: Genetic exchange between Neisseria meningitidis (NM) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) has not been well studied. This study aimed to investigate evidence of genetic exchanges between these two species. All coincident paired NM and NG isolates cultured from pharyngeal swabs collected from a sexual health clinic in Sydney in 2021 underwent whole-genome sequencing. A gene-by-gene analysis of the 47 NM-NG pairs identified 184 instances where the ancestry of the gene revealed intermixing between the two species. Incorporating the gene phylogenies demonstrated that these events occurred across a wide range of timeframes. At the nucleotide level, 91 genes were found where paired isolates harboured identical sequences. Notably, one instance of unequivocal recent gene transfer events be

SUBMITTER: van Hal SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12816886 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature