Infection and Immunity, December 2003, p. 6712-6720, Vol. 71, No. 12
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.12.6712-6720.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Genetic Basis for Biosynthesis of the (
1
4)-Linked N-Acetyl-D-Glucosamine 1-Phosphate Capsule of Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup X
Yih-Ling Tzeng,1,2* Corie Noble,2 and David S. Stephens1,2,3,4
Department
of Medicine,1
Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, Emory University School of
Medicine,3
Meningitis and Special
Pathogens Branch, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia,4
Department of
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Decatur,
Georgia2
Received 12 May 2003/
Returned for modification 8 August 2003/
Accepted 3 September 2003
The
genetic basis for biosynthesis of the (
1
4)-linked
N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 1-phosphate capsule of
Neisseria meningitidis serogroup X was defined. The
biosynthesis gene cassette was a
4.2-kb region located between
ctrA of the capsule transport operon and galE, which
encodes the UDP-glucose-4-epimerase. This location was identical to the
locations of the biosynthesis cassettes in other meningococcal
serogroups. Three open reading frames unique to meningococcus serogroup
X were identified. Deletion-insertion mutation and colony
immunoblotting confirmed that these three genes were essential for
serogroup X capsule expression, and the genes were designated
xcbA, xcbB, and xcbC (serogroup X
capsule biosynthesis). Reverse transcriptase PCR
indicated that the xcbABC genes form an operon and are
cotranscribed divergently from ctrA. XcbA exhibited 52%
amino acid similarity to SacB, the putative capsule polymerase of
meningococcus serogroup A, suggesting that it plays a role as the
serogroup X capsule polymerase. An IS1016 element was found
within the intergenic region separating ctrA and xcbA
in multiple strains, and this element did not interfere with capsule
expression.
* Corresponding
author. Mailing address: Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center,
Research 151, Room 5A183, 1670 Clairmont Rd., Decatur, GA 30033. Phone:
(404) 321-6111, ext. 6168. Fax: (404) 329-2210. E-mail:
ytzeng{at}emory.edu.
Editor:
J. N. Weiser
Infection and Immunity, December 2003, p. 6712-6720, Vol. 71, No. 12
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.12.6712-6720.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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Copyright © 2003 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.