Independent evolution of the core and accessory gene sets in the genus Neisseria: insights gained from the genome of Neisseria lactamica isolate 020-06.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The genus Neisseria contains two important yet very different pathogens, N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae, in addition to non-pathogenic species, of which N. lactamica is the best characterized. Genomic comparisons of these three bacteria will provide insights into the mechanisms and evolution of pathogenesis in this group of organisms, which are applicable to understanding these processes more generally.

Results

Non-pathogenic N. lactamica exhibits very similar population structure and levels of diversity to the meningococcus, whilst gonococci are essentially recent descendents of a single clone. All three species share a common core gene set estimated to comprise around 1190 CDSs, corresponding to about 60% of the genome. However, some of the nucleotide sequen

SUBMITTER: Bennett JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3091772 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature