title: Interspecies recombination in nature: a meningococcus that has acquired a gonococcal PIB porin.
abstract: A vaginal isolate of Neisseria has been reported to resemble Neisseria meningitidis in biochemical characteristics but to react with serological reagents that are specific to the PI porin from Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We have confirmed that this isolate has the biochemical attributes of a meningococcus and have shown that it clusters among meningococcal isolates on a dendrogram based on isoenzyme variation within housekeeping enzymes from populations of N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae. Furthermore, the sequences of the fbp and adk genes were typical of those of N. meningitidis and were distinct from those of N. gonorrhoeae. However, the porB gene was very similar to the por genes of N. gonorrhoeae isolates that express the PIB class of outer-membrane porin (differing from one gonococcal por allele at only a single nucleotide site), and was clearly distinct from the porB genes of N. meningitidis. The isolate therefore appears to be a typical meningococcus, except that its porB gene has been replaced with the por gene from a gonococcus.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berrón
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Feil
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Spratt
mesh_terms: D000263:Adenylate Kinase / Q000235:genetics; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D033902:Periplasmic Binding Proteins; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D018272:Porins / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D007527:Isoenzymes; D033902:Periplasmic Binding Proteins; D018272:Porins; C057699:porin protein, Neisseria; D000263:Adenylate Kinase