Using single-nucleotide polymorphisms to discriminate disease-associated from carried genomes of Neisseria meningitidis.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria meningitidis is one of the main agents of bacterial meningitis, causing substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, most of the time N. meningitidis is carried as a commensal not associated with invasive disease. The genomic basis of the difference between disease-associated and carried isolates of N. meningitidis may provide critical insight into mechanisms of virulence, yet it has remained elusive. Here, we have taken a comparative genomics approach to interrogate the difference between disease-associated and carried isolates of N. meningitidis at the level of individual nucleotide variations (i.e., single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]). We aligned complete genome sequences of 8 disease-associated and 4 carried isolates of N. meningitidis to search for SNPs that s

SUBMITTER: Katz LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3133314 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature