Table 2.

Families of repeat elements characterizing the Nm genome.

Repeat element	Composition	Putative function	Reference
ATR (AT-rich repeats)	183-bp A + T-rich sequence whose ends form an imperfect 35-bp inverted repeat	Modulation of gene expression	Parkhill J et al., Nature (2010) and Ampattu BJ et al., (2017)
Coding tandem repeats	Tandem repeats that do not disrupt the reading frame (repeat unit composed of 3 bp or multiples of 3 bp)	Generation of differing protein isoforms	Jordan P et al., BMC Microbiol (2003)
CREE (Correia repeat enclosed elements)	156-bp sequence bounded by a 26-bp inverted repeat	Modulation of gene expression	Correia FF et al., J Biol Chem (1988)
DUS (DNA uptake sequence)	10-bp sequence 5′-GCCGTCTGAA-3′	Recognition and uptake of exogenous DNA	Goodman SD and Scocca JJ, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1988)
NIME (neisserial intergenic mosaic elements)	Repeat units of 50–150 bp (RS elements), each flanked by 20-bp inverted repeats (dRS3 elements)	Pilin genes recombination	Parkhill J et al., Nature (2010)
SSR (simple sequence repeats)	1- to 10-bp motifs that are repeated in tandem	Modulation of gene expression	Saunders NJ et al., Mol Mircobiol (2000)
REP 2	120–150 bp sequence containing ribosome-binding-site-like conserved AAGGA motif	Modulation of gene expression	Parkhill J et a.l, Nature (2010)
REP 3	60-bp conserved sequence occurring next to CREE elements	Unknown	Parkhill J et al., Nature (2010)
REP 4	26-bp conserved sequence occurring next to CREE elements	Unknown	Parkhill J et al., Nature (2010)
REP 5	20-bp conserved sequence occurring next to CREE elements	Unknown	Parkhill J et al., Nature (2010)