The Role Of Recombination In Gonococcal Pilin Gene Variation

Abstract

Pili show remarkable variation in Neisserria gonorrhoeae. This variation is due to variable pilin, the primary protein component of pili. The variation in pilin is in turn due to events at the genetic level. Intragenic recombination (i.e., recombination from a homologous duplex located on the same chromosome) is one means by which variation could be brought about. The presence of the recBCD gene wpuld be consistent with such a mechanism since the presence of this gene is involved in recombinational events. This past summer at the Rocky Mountain Labs under the direction of Stuart Hill, I attempted to identify a recBCD gene in gonococcus.