Abstract
PHASE and antigenic variation of pilin expression in Neisseria gonorrhoeae result from recombination events in which variant sequences from one of the silent loci (pilS) are transferred to the expression locus (pilE). Such rearrangements were originally thought to be gene conversions1–3, but findings showing that phase variation is partially inhibited by DNase I4,5, that piliated (P+) cells are highly competent for DNA uptake6 and that gonococci readily undergo autolysis in culture7, led to the suggestion that pilin variation occurs through transformation by exogenous DNA4,8. We have developed a simple method for the selection of non-piliated (P-) cells and have evaluated naturally occurring P+ to P- transitions. Two primary pathways of pilin variation can be distinguished—transformation-mediated recombination, which is influenced by culture conditions and inhibited by DNase I, and intragenomic reciprocal recombination, which is unaffected by DNase I. Furthermore, we demonstrate that both piliated and revertible P- cells are competent for DNA uptake, an essential prerequisite of the first pathway.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Haas, R. & Meyer, T. F. Cell 44, 107–115 (1986).
Swanson, J. et al. Cell 47, 267–276 (1986).
Segal, E., Hagblom, P., Seifert, H. S. & So, M. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 2177–2181 (1986).
Norlander, L., Davies, J., Norquist, A. & Normark, S. J. Bact. 138, 762–769 (1979).
Seifert, H. S., Ajioka, R. & So, M. Vaccine 6, 107–109 (1988).
Sparling, P. F. J. Bact. 92, 1364–1370 (1966).
Hebeler, B. H. & Young, F. E. J. Bact 122, 385–392 (1975).
Seifert, H. S., Ajioka, R. S., Marchal, C., Sparling, P. F. & So, M. Nature 336, 392–395.
Haas, R., Schwarz, H. & Meyer, T. F. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 9079–9083 (1987).
Bergström, S., Robbins, K., Koomey, J. M. & Swanson, J. Proc. natn Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83, 3890–3894 (1986).
Segal, E., Billyard, E., So, M., Störzbach, S. & Meyer, T. F. Cell 40, 293–300 (1985).
Koomey, J. M., Gotschlich, E. C., Robbins, K., Bergström, S. & Swanson, J. Genetics 117, 391–398 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gibbs, C., Reimann, BY., Schultz, E. et al. Reassortment of pilin genes in Neisseria gonorrhoeae occurs by two distinct mechanisms. Nature 338, 651–652 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338651a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/338651a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Structure of the Neisseria meningitidis Type IV pilus
Nature Communications (2016)
-
Domain exchange at the 3’ end of the gene encoding the fratricide meningococcal two-partner secretion protein A
BMC Genomics (2013)
-
Distinct repeat motifs at the C-terminal region of CagA of Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from diseased patients and asymptomatic individuals in West Bengal, India
Gut Pathogens (2012)
-
The phasevarion: phase variation of type III DNA methyltransferases controls coordinated switching in multiple genes
Nature Reviews Microbiology (2010)
-
Meningococcal genome dynamics
Nature Reviews Microbiology (2006)