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. 1986 Jun;83(11):3890–3894. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.11.3890

Piliation control mechanisms in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

S Bergström, K Robbins, J M Koomey, J Swanson
PMCID: PMC323630  PMID: 2872674

Abstract

Gonococci (Gc) undergo pilus+ to pilus- "phase transitions" readily in vitro. In the present study we sequenced pilin mRNA from reverting, pilus- Gc by oligonucleotide primer extension and compared these pilin mRNA sequences with those expressed by their pilus+ predecessors and pilus+ revertants. The results suggest that genetic rearrangement within the pilin structural gene can generate defective pilin gene products, resulting in a pilus- phenotype. These pilus- Gc give rise to pilus+ revertants upon reconstitution of their modified pilin gene.

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Selected References

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