Project description:Microarray comparative genome hybridization (mCGH) data was collected from one Neisseria cinerea, two Neisseria lactamica, two Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and 48 Neisseria meningitidis isolates. For N. meningitidis, these isolates are from diverse clonal complexes, invasive and carriage strains, and all major serogroups. The microarray platform represented N. meningitidis strains MC58, Z2491, and FAM18 and N. gonorrhoeae FA1090.
Project description:Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) exhibits high genome plasticity caused by an unusually high density and diversity of transposable elements, and easily performs various mechanisms of drug resistance. Here we investigated the i19.05 clinical isolate with reduced susceptibility to penicillin (MIC=0.5 mg/L), tetracycline (MIC=0.5 mg/L), and azithromycin (MIC=1.0 mg/L), which carried no known genetic resistance determinants except of penA, which cannot explain the expression of the resistant phenotype. In addition, it attracted our attention to the presence of a new and unique mutation of Asn105Ser in SurA and several mutations in Omp85 (BamA). The goal of our study was to search for new molecular mechanisms of drug resistance. The pan susceptible n01.08 NG clinical isolate was involved as a control to compare, as well as a recipient in transformation procedure. The fragments of i19.05 genome contained mutant surA, omp85, and penA genes were amplified and used in spot-transformation of the n01.08 recipient isolate as described (Ilina, 2013). Finally, a resistant transformant NG05 (PenAmut, Ompmut, SurAmut) was obtained. For comprehensive proteomic analysis via LC-MS/MS, the proteins from the all tested N. gonorrhoeae strains were fractionated on cell envelope (CE) (including outer membrane, periplasmic, inner membrane) and cytosol (C). A total of 1125 proteins in the CE fraction, of which 894 were common in all strains were identified. Proteomics of the C fraction in the same experiment yielded a total of 928 proteins, of which 676 were shared among all strains. Proteome coverage for both fractions ranged from 52.72% (1111 proteins) in n01.08 to 54.53% (1149 proteins) in i19.05.
Project description:Comparison of transcriptional profiling between the 3 Neisseria meningitidis strains [serogroup A (Z2491), Serogroup B (MC58), and Serogroup C (FAM18)] and the 2 Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain (FA1090 and MS11).
Project description:Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of gonorrhea, a leading sexually transmitted disease with severe complications on reproductive health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has categorized the public health threat induced by N. gonorrhoeae as “urgent”, due to the ease of transmission and the fast emergence of multi-drug resistant strains. The need for development of vaccines and understanding the underlying factors leading to antibiotic resistance is of utmost importance. The proteomic profiles of the 14 WHO N. gonorrhoeae reference strains have been compared to the WHO F reference strain using a mass spectrometry with tandem mass tags (TMT) labeling to analyze the cell envelope and the cytoplasmic fractions extracted from each strain. Identifying novel vaccine candidates and proteomic signatures for antimicrobial resistance will further our understanding of N. gonorrhoeae proteotypes, in relationship to their respective genotypes and phenotypes, and provide deep insights that will impact the development of preventive and therapeutic tools to combat gonorrhea.
Project description:In this study wild-type, fur mutant, and complemented fur mutant strains of the human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae F62 were grown under high (100 uM iron) or low (100 uM desferal) iron conditions to identify genes whose expression was regulated by iron and/or Fur
Project description:Gonorrhea occurs at high incidence worldwide and has a major impact on reproductive and neonatal health worldwide. Alarmingly, with each new antibiotic introduced for gonorrhea, resistance has emerged, including resistance to penicillin, tetracycline, fluoroquinolones, and recently the third-generation cephalosporins. Treatment options are currently seriously limited and the development of a gonorrhea vaccine is a critical, longterm solution to this problem. Progress on gonorrhea vaccines has been slow, however, in part due to the high number of surface molecules in Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC) that undergo phase or antigenic variation and a lack of understanding of protective responses. Gonorrhea vaccine development can therefore benefit from a comprehensive, unbiased approach for antigen discovery. Here we identified cell envelop proteins from Neisseria gonorrhoeae exposed to physiology relevant conditions: presence of human serum, iron limitation and anaerobic growth.
Project description:The overall goals and objectives of this study are to investigate the transcriptomics of Neisseria gonorrhoeae using RNA-seq. This work will look at gene expression, start points of transcription, transcriptional termination, and differences between these in different conditions and between strains and growing cultures over time.