Epidemiological Evidence for the Role of the Hemoglobin Receptor, HmbR, in Meningococcal Virulence

Odile Harrison (1, 2) , Nicholas Evans (3, 4) , Jessica Blair (1, 5) , Holly Grimes (1) , Colin R. Tinsley (6, 7) , Xavier Nassif (8) , Paula Kriz (9) , Roisin Ure (1) , Steve Gray (10) , Jeremy Derrick (11) , Martin Maiden (1) , Ian Feavers (12)

1 Department of Zoology [Oxford]
2 University of Oxford
3 UMIST - University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
4 NIBSC - National Institute for Biological Standards and Control
5 Department of Zoology
6 MICALIS - MICrobiologie de l'ALImentation au Service de la Santé
7 AgroParisTech
8 UMR_S 570 - Pathogénie des infections systémiques
9 National Institute of Public Health [Prague]
10 Manchester Royal Infirmary
11 University of Manchester [Manchester]
12 Swansea University

The distribution of the haemoglobin receptor gene (hmbR) was investigated in disease and carried Neisseria meningitidis isolates revealing that the gene occurred at a significantly higher frequency in disease isolates compared to those obtained from carriage. Where hmbR was absent, the locus was occupied by the cassettes exl2 or exl3, or with a "pseudo hmbR" gene designated exl4. The hmbR locus in published N. meningitidis genomes, as well as N. gonorrhoeae and N. lactamica ST-640, exhibited characteristics of a pathogenicity island. These data are consistent with a role for the hmbR gene in meningococcal disease.

Keywords: haemoglobin receptor; meningococcal disease; virulence; pathogenicity island

Domains: Bacteriology; Infectious diseases

Odile Harrison, Nicholas Evans, Jessica Blair, Holly Grimes, Colin R. Tinsley, et al.. Epidemiological Evidence for the Role of the Hemoglobin Receptor, HmbR, in Meningococcal Virulence. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2009, 200 (1), p.98. ⟨10.1086/599377⟩. ⟨hal-03665200⟩