Editing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (section)

=== Horizontal gene transfer ===
[[Horizontal gene transfer]], also termed lateral gene transfer, is the sharing of genetic information amongst living organisms.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Burmeister AR | title = Horizontal Gene Transfer | journal = Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health | volume = 2015 | issue = 1 | pages = 193–194 | date = July 2015 | pmid = 26224621 | pmc = 4536854 | doi = 10.1093/emph/eov018 }}</ref> This transmission of information is a driving force of antibiotic resistance in ''N. gonorrhoeae''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Unemo M, Shafer WM | title = Antibiotic resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: origin, evolution, and lessons learned for the future | journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | volume = 1230 | issue = 1 | pages = E19–E28 | date = August 2011 | pmid = 22239555 | pmc = 4510988 | doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06215.x | bibcode = 2011NYASA1230E..19U }}</ref><ref name="Spencer-Smith_2016">{{cite journal | vauthors = Spencer-Smith R, Roberts S, Gurung N, Snyder LA | title = DNA uptake sequences in ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'' as intrinsic transcriptional terminators and markers of horizontal gene transfer | journal = Microbial Genomics | volume = 2 | issue = 8 | pages = e000069 | date = August 2016 | pmid = 28348864 | pmc = 5320588 | doi = 10.1099/mgen.0.000069 | doi-access = free }}</ref>  Studies have identified that ''N. gonorrhoeae'' has obtained methods of antimicrobial resistance by way of horizontal gene transfer from other ''Neisseria'' species including ''N.'' ''lactamica'', ''N. macacae'', and ''N. mucosa.'' <ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Manoharan-Basil SS, González N, Laumen JG, Kenyon C | title = Horizontal Gene Transfer of Fluoroquinolone Resistance-Conferring Genes From Commensal ''Neisseria'' to ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'': A Global Phylogenetic Analysis of 20,047 Isolates | journal = Frontiers in Microbiology | volume = 13 | pages = 793612 | date = 2022-03-17 | pmid = 35369513 | pmc = 8973304 | doi = 10.3389/fmicb.2022.793612 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Transformation in ''N. gonorrhoeae'' is performed by the type IV pilus, where the DNA is bound and brought into the cell, followed by processing and homologous recombination.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hamilton HL, Dillard JP | title = Natural transformation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: from DNA donation to homologous recombination | journal = Molecular Microbiology | volume = 59 | issue = 2 | pages = 376–385 | date = January 2006 | pmid = 16390436 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04964.x }}</ref>

Found in some genomes of ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'', the gonococcal genetic island (GGI), a [[genomic island]] (GI) specific to gonococci, has been identified as a mobile genetic element that is horizontally acquired.<ref name="Cehovin_2017">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cehovin A, Lewis SB | title = Mobile genetic elements in Neisseria gonorrhoeae: movement for change | journal = Pathogens and Disease | volume = 75 | issue = 6 | date = August 2017 | pmid = 28645177 | doi = 10.1093/femspd/ftx071 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kravtsov D, Gryadunov D, Shaskolskiy B | title = Gonococcal Genetic Island in the Global ''Neisseria gonorrhoeae'' Population: A Model of Genetic Diversity and Association with Resistance to Antimicrobials | journal = Microorganisms | volume = 11 | issue = 6 | pages = 1547 | date = June 2023 | pmid = 37375049 | pmc = 10301925 | doi = 10.3390/microorganisms11061547 | doi-access = free }}</ref> GGI is involved with antimicrobial resistance, transmission of genetic information, and iron acquisition.<ref name="Cehovin_2017" /> The genes within the gonococcal genetic island encode for the infamous [[type IV secretion system]] (T4SS), which is responsible for DNA secretion and is essential for biofilm formation.<ref name="Cehovin_2017" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Zweig M, Schork S, Koerdt A, Siewering K, Sternberg C, Thormann K, Albers SV, Molin S, van der Does C | title = Secreted single-stranded DNA is involved in the initial phase of biofilm formation by Neisseria gonorrhoeae | journal = Environmental Microbiology | volume = 16 | issue = 4 | pages = 1040–1052 | date = April 2014 | pmid = 24119133 | doi = 10.1111/1462-2920.12291 | bibcode = 2014EnvMi..16.1040Z | url = https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/90448694/emi12291.pdf }}</ref>

In 2011, researchers at Northwestern University found evidence of a human DNA fragment in a ''N. gonorrhoeae'' genome, the first example of horizontal gene transfer from humans to a bacterial pathogen.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Anderson MT, Seifert HS | title = Neisseria gonorrhoeae and humans perform an evolutionary LINE dance | journal = Mobile Genetic Elements | volume = 1 | issue = 1 | pages = 85–87 | date = May 2011 | pmid = 22016852 | pmc = 3190277 | doi = 10.4161/mge.1.1.15868 }}</ref><ref name=anderson2011>{{cite journal | vauthors = Anderson MT, Seifert HS | title = Opportunity and means: horizontal gene transfer from the human host to a bacterial pathogen | journal = mBio | volume = 2 | issue = 1 | pages = e00005–e00011 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21325040 | pmc = 3042738 | doi = 10.1128/mBio.00005-11 }}</ref>