TABLE 2.
Genes present within the regions defined as N. meningitidis or pathogen specific or common to N. meningitidis and N. lactamicaa
| Gene(s)b | Description | No. of ORFs | No. of kb specificc | % GC | No. of subtractive clonesd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N. meningitidis specific | |||||
| Virulence associated | |||||
| NMA0184 to NMA0186 | Capsule synthesis | 3 | 5.3 | 55 | 2 |
| NMA0788 | Secreted toxin (Frp) | 1 | 2.1 | 46 | 1 |
| NAM1617 to NMA1626 | Superoxide dismutase, probable RTX family exotoxin (Frp), and others | 10 | 6.9 | 44 | |
| NMA2191 and NMA2193 | DsbA, disulfide isomerase; TonB-dependent receptor protein | 2 | 2.8 | 49, 54 | 2 |
| Possible virulence associated | |||||
| NMA0687-NMA0696 | Filamentous hemagglutinin FhaB homologue (B. pertussis) | 13 | 17.3 | 45 | 9 |
| NMA1994 to NMA1996 | TolC and Hly4; possible hemolysin secretion system (Escherichia coli) | 3 | 3.0 | 54 | 1 |
| Metabolic | |||||
| NMA0028 to NMA0033 | Amino acid metabolism and transposase | 6 | 5.6 | 55 | 1 |
| NMA1820 (to NMA1884) | GpxA; glutathione peroxidasee | 1 (53) | 0.5 (40) | 48 (53) | 9 |
| Others | |||||
| NMA0093 | Probable integral membrane protein | 1 | 0.8 | 54 | |
| NMA1636 to NMA1637 | No homology | 2 | 1.1 | 53 | |
| NMA1988 to NMA1989 | Possible integral membrane proteins | 2 | 1.7 | 34 | |
| NMA2035 | Conserved hypothetical protein | 1 | 0.8 | 35 | |
| Insertion sequences; bacteriophages | |||||
| NMA1814 | Insertion element IS1655 transposase | 1 | 1.5 | 51 | |
| Pathogen specific | |||||
| Virulence associated | |||||
| NMA0609 | PilC; pilin-associated adhesinf | 1/2 (3′) | 1.5 | 49 | 4 |
| NMA0905 | Immunoglobulin A1 protease | 1 | 5.3 | 47 | 3 |
| NMA1925 | HmbR; hemoglobin receptor | 2 | 3.2 | 52 | |
| Possible virulence associated | |||||
| NMA0478 | Possible outer membrane peptidase; Ssa1 (Pasteurella haemolytica)f | 1/2 (5′) | 1.7 | 60 | 2 |
| NMA0575 to NMA0578 | Probable ferric siderophore receptors; ORF without homology | 2 | 5.7 | 61 | |
| NMA1642 | PorA; class I outer membrane poring | 1 | 1.2 | 52 | 2 |
| NMA1676 | Variant of opacity protein | 1 | 0.6 | 48 | |
| NMA1725 | Possible virulence-associated protein; VirG (Shigella flexneri) | 1 | 1.9 | 41 | 1 |
| NMA1900 | Possible hemolysin Hly3 (Bacillus cereus) | 1 | 0.6 | 51 | 1 |
| Metabolic | |||||
| NMA1255 | Ggt; probable gamma-glutamyltranspeptidaseg | 1 | 1.8 | 47 | |
| NMA2011, NMA2013 | BioF; biotin synthesis | 2 | 1.8 | 42, 44, 51 | |
| NMA2015 to NMA2017 | SpeA and -B; polyamine metabolism | 3 | 4.5 | 4 | |
| NMA2050, NMA2052, and NMA2054 to NMA2055 | AckA2, acetate kinase, and AcnA, aconitase; PrpC, citrate synthase, and PrpB, possible carboxyphosphoenolpyruvate phosphomutase | 4 | 4.6 | 3 | |
| Others | |||||
| NMA0020 to NMA0021 | Probable integral membrane protein | 2 | 2.1 | 48 | |
| NMA0091 | Probable amino acid transporter | 1 | 1.4 | 54 | |
| NMA0109 to NMA0114 | Preprotein translocase; ribosomal proteins | 6 | 3.4 | 37, 42 | |
| NMA0305A | Probable transposase | 1 | 0.6 | 47 | |
| NMA0431 | Possible inner membrane protein | 1 | 1.3 | 49 | |
| NMA0586 | Possible lipoprotein | 1 | 0.8 | 54 | |
| NMA0668 to NMA0670 | Two-component sensor/kinase and transporter pseudogene | 1 | 3.0 | 44 | 1 |
| NMA0678 to NMA0683 | Possible lipoprotein, secretion protein pseudogene, and ORFs without homology | 5 | 3.0 | 44 | 1 |
| NMA0700 | Possible ribonuclease | 1 | 1.2 | 57 | |
| NMA1101 to NMA1102 | Possible integral membrane protein and ORF without homology | 2 | 1.0 | 43 | |
| NMA1777 | Possible integral membrane protein | 1 | 0.9 | 54 | |
| NMA1797 to NMA1799 | TspB; Neisseria-specific antigen and other ORFs without homology | 3 | 3.4 | 47 | 2 |
| NMA2069 | Probable integral membrane protein | 1 | 1.6 | 48 | |
| Insertion sequences; bacterio- phages | |||||
| NMA1167 to NMA1171 | Possible phage-related proteins | 5 | 1.6 | 45 | |
| NMA1212 | Transposase | 1 | 1.1 | 44 | |
| NMA1600 | Possible transposase | 1 | 0.4 | 37/PICK> | |
| No homology | |||||
| NMA0171A to NMA0173 | No homology | 3 | 1.1 | 37 | |
| NMA0565 to NMA0568 | No homology | 3 | 1.1 | 46 | |
| NMA1067 to NMA1068 | No homology | 2 | 1.0 | 33 | |
| NMA1218 to NMA1220 | No homology | 3 | 0.8 | 53 | |
| NMA1424 | No homology | 1 | 1 | 52 | |
| NMA1438 | No homology | 1 | 1.4 | 52 | |
| NMA1913 | No homology | 1 | 0.8 | 48 | |
| NMA1997 to NMA1999 | No homology | 2 | 1.5 | 46 | |
| Common to N. meningitidis and N. lectamica | |||||
| NMA1035 to NMA1036 | Restriction modification system | 2 | 2.1 | 33 | 1 |
| NMA1200 | Probable surface fibril protein; Hsf | 1 | 1.8 | 49 | |
| NMA1283 to NMA1286 | Phage-related protein | 4 | 3.4 | 51 | |
| NMA1365 to NMA1366 | Sulfate metabolism | 2 | 2.5 | 56 |
Comparisons were made between the genetic complement of the eight virulent meningococcal strains and three N. gonorrhoeae and two N. lactamica strains. The presence or absence of amplicons in a test strain was translated into that of the corresponding genes, based on the coordinates (base numbers) of the amplicons and genes on the meningococcal chromosome (Z2491). Genes corresponding to one or more amplicons absent in the test strain were considered to be absent; genes which overlapped two amplicons one of which was present and one absent could not be designated clearly and are not tabulated.
ORF nomenclature of Parkhill and colleagues (24).
Regions over 2 kb are in boldface type.
Regions previously brought to light by subtractive hybridization methods and the number of corresponding subtractive clones (1).
The genes pilC and ssa1 are both represented by two amplicons which divide them into a 5′ half and a 3′ half.
Both PorA and Ggt, previously described as N. meningitidis-specific attributes, are represented as pseudogenes in N. gonorrhoeae FA1090.