Neisseria meningitidis has evolved the ability to control the expression‐state of numerous
genes by phase variation. It has been proposed that the process aids this human pathogen …

The 57-kb gonococcal genetic island (GGI) encodes a type IV secretion system (T4SS) that
is found in most strains of N. gonorrhoeae. This T4SS functions to secrete single-stranded …

DNA tandem repeats (TRs), also designated as satellite DNA, are inter-or intragenic
nucleotide sequences that are repeated two or more times in a head-to-tail manner …

Cell division and cell wall synthesis mechanisms are similarly conserved among bacteria.
Consequently some bacterial species have comparable sets of genes organized in the dcw …

In Neisseria meningitidis, the reversible expression of surface antigens, ie phase variation,
results from changes within repeated simple sequence motifs located in coding or promoter …

Interspecific complementation of an Escherichia coli recA mutant was used to identify
recombinant plasmids within a genomic cosmid library derived from Neisseria gonorrhoeae …

DNA transfer between related bacterial species is enhanced by species-specific uptake
sequences. These sequences have been used to identify genes that have been transferred …

Bacterial messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are composed of 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions
(UTRs) that flank the coding sequences (CDSs). In eukaryotes, 3′ UTRs play key roles in …

Background Neisseria meningitidis causes the life-threatening diseases meningococcal
meningitis and meningococcal septicemia. Neisseria gonorrhoeae is closely related to the …

Phase variation, mediated through variation in the length of simple sequence repeats, is
recognized as an important mechanism for controlling the expression of factors involved in …