Phasevarions of pathogenic Neisseria [ 2008 - 2010 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Michael Jennings (Principal investigator) ,  Dr Danielle Horyniak (Funded by) ,  Prof Sean Grimmond

Brief description Certain bacterial DNA repeats are prone to hyper mutation. Genes with these repeats, Contingency genes, are randomly switched on and off. This process, phase variation , generates diversity in a population. Recently we described a new class of contingency gene that methylates DNA. On-off switching of this gene leads to random switching of multiple genes; the phasevarion . We will define the impact of this system in bacteria causing meningitis and STDs.

Funding Amount $AUD 557,939.08

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant