Complete and variant forms of the 'gonococcal genetic island' in Neisseria meningitidis

Abstract

Comparative genome hybridization using the pan-Neisseria microarray identified genes from the gonococcal genetic island (GGI) within Neisseria meningitidis strains of serogroups W-135, H, and Z. While some of these strains contain nearly all of the genes of the GGI, there are differences in the presence of some of these genes between the strains, including between those of the same serogroup. Attempts were then made to determine the location of the GGI in these meningococci. Sequencing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain MS11 revealed that the GGI is a conjugative plasmid that can be chromosomally integrated at the dif sites near ung and can also be present in its circularized form. In N. meningitidis, a dif site is present in this location and also serves as the point of chromosomal integration of the GGI in this species.