Investigation of antigenic variation in Neisseria species using high throughput sequencing. Neisseria

Antigenic variation occurs in a range of bacterial, protozoan and fungal pathogens. This process can occur when variant DNA is unidirectionally transferred from partial gene copies (or silent loci) into an expression locus, and resembles gene conversion. Using genes from Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis we have demonstrated that it is possible to use PCR amplification, followed by high-throughput DNA sequencing and a novel assembly process, to detect individual antigenic variation events. This approach promises to dramatically improve studies of the extent and nature of antigenic variation systems in a variety of species.