ArticlePLoS genetics2011
The transposon-like Correia elements encode numerous strong promoters and provide a potential new mechanism for phase variation in the meningococcus.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bacteriocin-like peptides encoded by a horizontally acquired island mediate Neisseria gonorrhoeae autolysis.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Unveiling host-parasite relationships through conserved MITEs in prokaryote and viral genomes.Nucleic acids research · 2024Article
- Review
- Factor H binding protein (fHbp)-mediated differential complement resistance of a serogroup CAccess microbiology · 2021Article
- Genetic determinants of genus-level glycan diversity in a bacterial protein glycosylation system.PLoS genetics · 2019Article
- Whole-genome sequencing and characterization of an antibiotic resistant Neisseria meningitidis B isolate from a military unit in Vietnam.Annals of clinical microbiology and antimicrobials · 2019Article
- MITEmSphere · 2019Article
- Identification of novel MITEs (miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements) in Coxiella burnetii: implications for protein and small RNA evolution.BMC genomics · 2018Article
- Transcriptomic buffering of cryptic genetic variation contributes to meningococcal virulence.BMC genomics · 2017Article
- Article
- Single-Cell (Meta-)Genomics of a Dimorphic Candidatus Thiomargarita nelsonii Reveals Genomic Plasticity.Frontiers in microbiology · 2016Article
- How the Knowledge of Interactions between Meningococcus and the Human Immune System Has Been Used to Prepare Effective Neisseria meningitidis Vaccines.Journal of immunology research · 2015Review
- The Immune Syntax Revisited: Opening New Windows on Language Evolution.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2015Article
- Article
- Bacterial genome instability.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2014Review
- Mathematical and live meningococcal models for simple sequence repeat dynamics - coherent predictions and observations.PloS one · 2014Article
- Visual ModuleOrganizer: a graphical interface for the detection and comparative analysis of repeat DNA modules.Mobile DNA · 2014Article
- The Long Road to an Effective Vaccine for Meningococcus Group B (MenB).Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2013Review
- Promoter propagation in prokaryotes.Nucleic acids research · 2012Article
- Promoter reuse in prokaryotes.Mobile genetic elements · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Neisseria meningitidis is the primary causative agent of bacterial meningitis. The genome is rich in repetitive DNA and almost 2% is occupied by a diminutive transposon called the Correia element. Here we report a bioinformatic analysis defining eight subtypes of the element with four distinct types of ends. Transcriptional analysis, using PCR and a lacZ reporter system, revealed that two ends in particular encode strong promoters. The activity of the strongest promoter is dictated by a recurrent polymorphism (Y128) at the right end of the element. We highlight examples of elements that appear to drive transcription of adjacent genes and others that may express small non-coding RNAs. Pair-wise comparisons between three meningococcal genomes revealed that no more than two-thirds of Correia elements maintain their subtype at any particular locus. This is due to recombinational class switching between elements in a single strain. Upon switching subtype, a new allele is available to spread through the population by natural transformation. This process may represent a hitherto unrecognized mechanism for phase variation in the meningococcus. We conclude that the strain-to-strain variability of the Correia elements, and the large number of strong promoters encoded by them, allows for potentially widespread effects within the population as a whole. By defining the strength of the promoters encoded by the eight subtypes of Correia ends, we provide a resource that allows the transcriptional effects of a particular subtype at a given locus to be predicted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.