title: DNA repair profiles of disease-associated isolates of Neisseria meningitidis.
abstract: Neisseria meningitidis, or the meningococcus, is the source of significant morbidity and mortality in humans worldwide. Even though mutability has been linked to the occurrence of outbreaks of epidemic disease, meningococcal DNA repair pathways are poorly delineated. For the first time, a collection of meningococcal disease-associated isolates has been demonstrated to express constitutively the DNA glycosylases MutY and Fpg in vivo. DNA sequence analysis showed considerable variability in the deduced amino acid sequences of MutS and Fpg, while MutY and RecA were highly conserved. Interestingly, multi-locus sequence typing demonstrated a putative link between the pattern of amino acid substitutions and levels of spontaneous mutagenicity in meningococcal strains. These results provide a basis for further studies aimed at resolving the genotype/phenotype relationships of meningococcal genome variability and mutator activity.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Molecular Biology and Neuroscience and Institute of Microbiology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Tonje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Davidsen
authors.forename: Erik Koldberg
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Amundsen
authors.forename: Einar Andreas
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Rødland
authors.forename: Tone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tønjum
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D045647:DNA Glycosylases / Q000235:genetics; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D043382:DNA-Formamidopyrimidine Glycosylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D050296:Microbial Viability; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D051719:MutS DNA Mismatch-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics; D009154:Mutation; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D011938:Rec A Recombinases; D045647:DNA Glycosylases; C061738:mutY adenine glycosylase; D043382:DNA-Formamidopyrimidine Glycosylase; D051719:MutS DNA Mismatch-Binding Protein; D012293:Rifampin