Transcription of a cis-acting, noncoding, small RNA is required for pilin antigenic variation in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

ABSTRACT: The strict human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae can utilize homologous recombination to generate antigenic variability in targets of immune surveillance. To evade the host immune response, N. gonorrhoeae promotes high frequency gene conversion events between many silent pilin copies and the expressed pilin locus (pilE), resulting in the production of variant pilin proteins. Previously, we identified a guanine quartet (G4) structure localized near pilE that is required for the homologous recombination reactions leading to pilin antigenic variation (Av). In this work, we demonstrate that inactivating the promoter of a small non-coding RNA (sRNA) that initiates within the G4 forming sequence blocks pilin Av. The sRNA promoter is conserved in all sequenced gonococcal strains, and mutations in

SUBMITTER: Cahoon LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3547852 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature