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Volume 9, Issue 5

The Gonococcal Genetic Island defines distinct sub-populations of Open Access

Abstract

The incidence of gonorrhoea is increasing at an alarming pace, and therapeutic options continue to narrow as a result of worsening drug resistance. is naturally competent, allowing the organism to adapt rapidly to selection pressures including antibiotics. A sub-population of carries the Gonococcal Genetic Island (GGI), which encodes a type IV secretion system (T4SS) that secretes chromosomal DNA. Previous research has shown that the GGI increases transformation efficiency , but the extent to which it contributes to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) during infection is unknown. Here we analysed genomic data from clinical isolates of to better characterize GGI+ and GGI− sub-populations and to delineate patterns of variation at the locus itself. We found the element segregating at an intermediate frequency (61%), and it appears to act as a mobile genetic element with examples of gain, loss, exchange and intra-locus recombination within our sample. We further found evidence suggesting that GGI+ and GGI− sub-populations preferentially inhabit distinct niches with different opportunities for HGT. Previously, GGI+ isolates were reported to be associated with more severe clinical infections, and our results suggest this could be related to metal-ion trafficking and biofilm formation. The co-segregation of GGI+ and GGI− isolates despite mobility of the element suggests that both niches inhabited by remain important to its overall persistence as has been demonstrated previously for cervical- and urethral-adapted sub-populations. These data emphasize the complex population structure of and its capacity to adapt to diverse niches.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): Gonococcal Genetic Island (GGI) , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , pangenome and population genetics
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • National Science Foundation (Award DGE-1747503)
    • Principle Award Recipient: MadisonA Youngblom
  • Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (Award R01 AI047958; R01 AI113287)
    • Principle Award Recipient: ApplicableNot
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2023-05-22
2024-05-03
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The Gonococcal Genetic Island defines distinct sub-populations of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
M Gen 9, 000985 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000985
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000985
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000985
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