The Gonococcal Transcriptome during Infection of the Lower Genital Tract in Women

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133982
• Publication Date: 2015-08-05T18:03:38Z
• Authors: Ryan McClure; Kathleen Nudel; Paola Massari; Brian Tjaden; Xiaohong Su; Peter A. Rice; Caroline A. Genco
• Keywords: Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Gonorrhea is a highly prevalent disease resulting in significant morbidity worldwide, with an estimated 106 cases reported annually. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the causative agent of gonorrhea, colonizes and infects human genital tract often evades host immune mechanisms until successful antibiotic treatment used. The alarming increase antibiotic-resistant strains N. asymptomatic nature this women lack vaccine directed at crucial virulence determinants have prompted us to perform transcriptome analysis understand gonococcal gene expression patterns during natural infection. We sequenced RNA extracted from cervico-vaginal lavage samples collected recently exposed infected male partners determined complete gonorrhoeae infection lower women. On average, 3.19% total isolated female aligned NCCP11945 genome 1750 ORFs (65% all protein-coding genes) were transcribed. High vivo was observed genes encoding antimicrobial efflux pumps, iron response, phage production, pilin structure, outer membrane structures hypothetical proteins. A parallel performed using same grown vitro chemically defined media (CDM). 140 increased compared growth CDM, 165 decreased expression. Large differences found profiles under each condition, particularly involved DNA processing, iron, transposase, lipoproteins. specifically interrogated binding regulators iron-scavenging proteins, identified several iron-regulated genes, including tbpAB fbpAB, as vitro, suggesting that women, gonococcus deplete environment. Collectively, we demonstrate large portion expressed regulated mucosal regulatory functions scavenging.