title: Neisseria infection of rhesus macaques as a model to study colonization, transmission, persistence, and horizontal gene transfer.
abstract: The strict tropism of many pathogens for man hampers the development of animal models that recapitulate important microbe-host interactions. We developed a rhesus macaque model for studying Neisseria-host interactions using Neisseria species indigenous to the animal. We report that Neisseria are common inhabitants of the rhesus macaque. Neisseria isolated from the rhesus macaque recolonize animals after laboratory passage, persist in the animals for at least 72 d, and are transmitted between animals. Neisseria are naturally competent and acquire genetic markers from each other in vivo, in the absence of selection, within 44 d after colonization. Neisseria macacae encodes orthologs of known or presumed virulence factors of human-adapted Neisseria, as well as current or candidate vaccine antigens. We conclude that the rhesus macaque model will allow studies of the molecular mechanisms of Neisseria colonization, transmission, persistence, and horizontal gene transfer. The model can potentially be developed further for preclinical testing of vaccine candidates.
authors: BIO5 Institute and Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. njweyand@email.arizona.edu
authors: Nathan J
authors: NJ
authors: Weyand
authors: Anne M
authors: AM
authors: Wertheimer
authors: Theodore R
authors: TR
authors: Hobbs
authors: Jennifer L
authors: JL
authors: Sisko
authors: Nyiawung A
authors: NA
authors: Taku
authors: Lindsay D
authors: LD
authors: Gregston
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Clary
authors: Dustin L
authors: DL
authors: Higashi
authors: Nicolas
authors: N
authors: Biais
authors: Lewis M
authors: LM
authors: Brown
authors: Shannon L
authors: SL
authors: Planer
authors: Alfred W
authors: AW
authors: Legasse
authors: Michael K
authors: MK
authors: Axthelm
authors: Scott W
authors: SW
authors: Wong
authors: Magdalene
authors: M
authors: So
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005819:Genetic Markers; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009343:Neisseria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010802:Phylogeny; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers
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