Expression of the Gene for Autotransporter AutB of Neisseria meningitidis Affects Biofilm Formation and Epithelial Transmigration.

ABSTRACT: Neisseria meningitidis is a Gram-negative bacterium that resides as a commensal in the upper respiratory tract of humans, but occasionally, it invades the host and causes sepsis and/or meningitis. The bacterium can produce eight autotransporters, seven of which have been studied to some detail. The remaining one, AutB, has not been characterized yet. Here, we show that the autB gene is broadly distributed among pathogenic Neisseria spp. The gene is intact in most meningococcal strains. However, its expression is prone to phase variation due to slipped-strand mispairing at AAGC repeats located within the DNA encoding the signal sequence and is switched off in the vast majority of these strains. Moreover, various genetic disruptions prevent autB expression in most

SUBMITTER: Arenas J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5118866 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature