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Volume 10, Issue 2

Characterizing the diversity and commensal origins of mosaicism in the genus Open Access

Abstract

Mosaic alleles formed through horizontal gene transfer (HGT) have been instrumental to the rising incidence of ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal infections. Although interspecies HGT of regions of the gene between and commensal species has been described, knowledge concerning which species are the most common contributors to mosaic alleles is limited, with most studies examining only a small number of alleles. Here, we investigated the origins of recombinant alleles through analyses that incorporated 1700 alleles from 35 513 isolates, comprising 15 different species. We identified and as the most common source of recombinant sequences in . This contrasted with , for which the primary source of recombinant DNA was other meningococci, followed by . Additionally, we described the distribution of polymorphisms implicated in antimicrobial resistance in , and found that these are present across the genus. These results provide insight into resistance-related changes in the gene across human-associated species, illustrating the importance of genomic surveillance of not only the pathogenic , but also of the oral niche-associated commensals from which these pathogens are sourcing key genetic variation.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): antimicrobial resistance , commensals , genomics , mosaic , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , penA and penicillin binding protein 2
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Wellcome Trust (Award 214374/Z/18/Z)
    • Principle Award Recipient: OdileB Harrison
  • Wellcome Trust (Award 218205/Z/19/Z)
    • Principle Award Recipient: MartinC.J Maiden
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Award BB/M011224/1)
    • Principle Award Recipient: AnastasiaUnitt
© 2024 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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2024-02-21
2024-05-20
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Characterizing the diversity and commensal origins of penA mosaicism in the genus Neisseria
M Gen 10, 001209 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001209
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.001209
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