Neisseria meningitidis: using genomics to understand diversity, evolution and pathogenesis

@article{Caugant2019NeisseriaMU,
  title={Neisseria meningitidis: using genomics to understand diversity, evolution and pathogenesis},
  author={Dominique A. Caugant and Ola Br{\o}nstad Brynildsrud},
  journal={Nature Reviews Microbiology},
  year={2019},
  pages={1-13}
}
Meningococcal disease remains an important cause of morbidity and death worldwide despite the development and increasing implementation of effective vaccines. Elimination of the disease is hampered by the enormous diversity and antigenic variability of the causative agent, Neisseria meningitidis, one of the most variable bacteria in nature. These features are attained mainly through high rates of horizontal gene transfer and alteration of protein expression through phase variation. The recent… 
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Using Neisseria meningitidis genomic diversity to inform outbreak strain identification
TLDR
It is shown that genome distance thresholds based on the maximum SNPs and allele distances among isolates in the phylogenetically defined outbreak strains are sufficient to separate most pairs of non-outbreak isolates into separate strains.
Diversification in immunogenicity genes caused by selective pressures in invasive meningococci
TLDR
The emergence and decline of a sub-lineage expansion within ST-41/44 complex isolates concurrent with a hyperendemic period in meningococcal meningitis is shown.
Molecular characterization of Neisseria meningitidis isolates recovered from patients with invasive meningococcal disease in Colombia from 2013 to 2016
TLDR
It is shown that most meningococcal isolates recovered from patients with invasive meningitis disease in Colombia are strains associated with distinct globally disseminated hyperinvasive clones.
Genetic Variation in Neisseria meningitidis Does Not Influence Disease Severity in Meningococcal Meningitis
TLDR
Results of a genome-wide association study of 486 N. meningitidis genomes from meningococcal meningitis patients and their association with disease severity show that much larger sample sizes are required to find specific low-effect genetic variants modulating disease outcome in meninginflammation.
Novel hypercapsulation RNA thermosensor variants in Neisseria meningitidis and their association with invasive meningococcal disease: a genetic and phenotypic investigation and molecular epidemiological study.
The Host-Pathogen Interactions and Epicellular Lifestyle of Neisseria meningitidis
TLDR
This review focuses on the competition that N. meningitidis faces in the nasopharynx from other Neisseria species, and how the genetic diversity of the meningococcus contributes to the wide range of inflammatory and pathogenic potentials observed among different lineages.
Emergence of a novel urogenital-tropic Neisseria meningitidis
TLDR
The US_NmUC emerged as a cause of urethritis due to acquisition of gonococcal genetic determinants and phenotypic traits that facilitate urogenital tract infection and is now circulating in the UK and Southeast Asia.
Genome-wide association studies reveal the role of polymorphisms affecting factor H binding protein expression in host invasion by Neisseria meningitidis
TLDR
Bacterial genome-wide association studies of Neisseria meningitidis, a common commensal of the human respiratory tract that is nevertheless a leading cause of meningitis and sepsis, show the importance of human and bacterial genetic variation across the fHbp:CFH interface in determining IMD susceptibility, the transition from carriage to disease.
Neisseria genes required for persistence identified via in vivo screening of a transposon mutant library
TLDR
Host interaction factors required for niche development and maintenance are identified through in vivo screening of a transposon mutant library of Neisseria musculi, a commensal of wild-caught mice which persistently and asymptomatically colonizes the oral cavity and gut of CAST/EiJ and A/J mice.
Neisseria gonorrhoeae Multivalent Maxibody with a Broad Spectrum of Strain Specificity and Sensitivity for Gonorrhea Diagnosis
TLDR
The present study illustrates the advantages and potential application of multivalent maxibodies to develop rapid and sensitive diagnostic reagents for infectious diseases and cancer.
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