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Phase variable changes in genes lgtA and lgtC within the lgtABCDE operon of Neisseria gonorrhoeae can modulate gonococcal susceptibility to normal human serum

Laboratories of Bacterial Pathogenesis, Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Atlanta), Decatur, Georgia USA, wshafer{at}emory.edu, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Anup Datta

The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

V.S. Kumar Kolli

The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

M. Mahbubur Rahman

The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

Jacqueline T. Balthazar

Laboratories of Bacterial Pathogenesis, Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Atlanta), Decatur, Georgia USA, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Larry E. Martin

Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Wendy L. Veal

Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

David S. Stephens

Laboratories of Bacterial Pathogenesis, Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Atlanta), Decatur, Georgia USA, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Russell Carlson

The Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

The -chain of the core oligosaccharide of the lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) produced by Neisseria gonorrhoeae can undergo reversible and rapid changes in structure due to phase-variable production of certain enzymes employed in the biosynthesis of the lacto-N-neotetraose structure. Five of these enzymes are encoded by the lgtABCDE operon, and polynucleotide tracts within three of these genes (lgtA, lgtC and lgtD) can be substrates for slipped-strand mispairing events that lead to nucleotide insertions or deletion events which result in variable production of their respective gene products. We now report that phase-variable synthesis of the lgtA and lgtC gene products in strain FA19 results in the production of elongated LOS -chains and that the presence of these LOS species can result in gonococci being sensitive to the bacteriolytic action of serum-antibody and complement. Hence, phase variation within the lgtABCDE operon can significantly impact the ability of gonococci to subvert this important host defense system.

Journal of Endotoxin Research, Vol. 8, No. 1, 47-58 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/09680519020080010501


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