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Volume 19, Number 4—April 2013
Research

Description and Nomenclature of Neisseria meningitidis Capsule Locus

Odile B. Harrison, Heike Claus, Ying Jiang, Julia S. Bennett, Holly B. Bratcher, Keith A. Jolley, Craig Corton, Rory Care, Jan T. Poolman, Wendell D. Zollinger, Carl E. Frasch, David S. Stephens, Ian Feavers, Matthias Frosch, Julian Parkhill, Ulrich Vogel, Michael A. Quail, Stephen D. Bentley, and Martin C.J. Maiden
Author affiliations: University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (O.B. Harrison, J.S. Bennett, H.B. Bratcher, K.A. Jolley, M.C.J. Maiden); University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany (H. Claus, M. Frosch, U. Vogel); The Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK (Y. Jiang, C. Corton, J. Parkhill, M.A. Quail, S.D. Bentley); National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, Potters Bar, UK (R. Care, I. Feavers); Crucell, Leiden, the Netherlands (J.T. Poolman); Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA (W.D. Zollinger); Frasch Biologics Consulting, Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA (C.E. Frasch); Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (D.S. Stephens)

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Table 3

Nomenclature of Neisseria meningitidis capsule genes and description*

Region, serogroup Proposed nomenclature (NEIS)† Previous nomenclature Protein function Size, bp G+C content, % Ref
Region A
A csaA (NEIS2157) mynA/sacA UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 2-epimerase 1,119 25 (18)
csaB (NEIS2158) mynB/sacB Polymerase linking N-acetyl-D-mannosamine-1-phosphate monomers 1,638 28 (18)
csaC (NEIS2159) mynC/sacC O-acetyltransferase 744 30 (28)
csaD (NEIS2160) mynD/sacD Capsule transport 864 35 (18)
B, C, W, Y cssA (NEIS0054) siaA/synX/synA/neuC N-acetylglucosamine-6-P 2-epimerase 1,134 31 (17)
cssB (NEIS0053) siaB/synB/neuA CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthase 687 41
cssC (NEIS0052) siaC/synC/neuB N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase 1,050 40
csb (NEIS2161) siaDB/synD Polysialyltransferase 1,488 28
csc (NEIS0051) siaDC/synE Polysialyltransferase 1,479 31
csy (NEIS2163) siaDY/synF Polymerase linking glucose and N-acetylneuraminic acid 3,114 31
csw (NEIS2162) siaDW/synG Polymerase linking galactose and N-acetylneuraminic acid 3,114 31
cssE (NEIS0050) oatC O-acetyltransferase 1,383 29 (29)
cssF (NEIS2164) oatWY O-acetyltransferase 636 33 (29)
ctrG (NEIS0049) ctrG/NMB0065 Putative role in surface expression of sialic capsules 957 33 (30)
E cseA (NEIS2165) cap29eA Unknown 1,197 33
cseB (NEIS2166) cap29eB Unknown 639 38
cseC (NEIS2167) cap29eC Glycosyltransferase 1,461 40
cseD (NEIS2168) Fusion of cap29eD and cap29eE Glycosyltransferase 2,198 39
cseE (NEIS2169) cap29eF 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonic acid 8-phosphate synthase 852 28
cseF (NEIS2170) cap29eG CMP-2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid synthetase and 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate 8-phosphatase 1,290 26
cseG (NEIS2171) cap29eH D-arabinose 5-phosphate isomerase 947 28
H cshA (NEIS2173)           – Glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase 399 29
cshB (NEIS2174) – Putative phosphotransferase with licD domain (involved in phosphorylcholine decoration of teichoic acid) 1,269 33
cshC (NEIS2177) – Teichoic acid synthase 3,453 34
cshD (NEIS2178) – Unknown, no putative conserved domains 1,035 38
I csiA (NEIS2179) – UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase 1,125 36
csiB (NEIS2180) – UDP-N-acetyl-D-mannosamine dehydrogenase 1,269 45
csiC (NEIS2181) – Glycosyltransferase group 1 2,289 36
csiD (NEIS2182) – Glycosyltransferase group 2 2,520 34
csiE (NEIS2183) – Putative glycosyl transferase group 1 972 42
K cskA (NEIS2179) – UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 2-epimerase 1,125 36
cskB (NEIS2180) – UDP-N-acetyl-D-mannosamine dehydrogenase 1,269 45
cskC (NEIS2190) – Glycosyltransferase group 1 2,289 36
cskD (NEIS2191) – Glycosyltransferase group 2 2,520 34
cskE (NEIS2183) – Putative glycosyl transferase group 1 972 42
L cslA (NEIS2184) lcbA Capsule phosphotransferase 1,101 30
cslB (NEIS2185) lcbB Capsule polymerase 2,634 28
cslC (NEIS2186) lcbC Acetyltransferase 651 39
X csxA (NEIS2187) xcbA Capsule polymerase 1,461 39 (19)
csxB (NEIS2188) xcbB Unknown 1,053 39
csxC (NEIS2189) xcbC Unknown 771 35
Z cszA (NEIS2173) capZA Glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase 399 43
cszB (NEIS2174) capZB Putative phosphotransferase with licD domain (involved in phosphorylcholine decoration of teichoic acid) 1,290 45
cszC (NEIS2175) capZC Teichoic acid synthase 3,825 36
cszD (NEIS2176)
 capZD
 Unknown, no conserved domains detected
 1,626
 38
Region B ctrE (NEIS0066) lipA/ctrE Capsule translocation 2,115 51 (31)
ctrF (NEIS0067)
 lipB/ctrF
 Capsule translocation
 1,260
 49
 (31)
Region C ctrA (NEIS0055) ctrA Capsule polysaccharide export outer membrane protein 1,179 47 (32)
ctrB (NEIS0056) ctrB Capsule polysaccharide export inner membrane protein 1,164 46
ctrC (NEIS0057) ctrC Capsule polysaccharide export inner membrane protein 726 43
ctrD (NEIS0058) ctrD Capsule polysaccharide export ATP binding protein 651 46

*Ref, reference; –, no previous nomenclature. Blank cells in last column indicate no reference.
†In addition to the common gene name, these loci are allocated a value-free nomenclature consistent with the FAM18 genome annotation but using the prefix NEIS instead of NMC.

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Page updated: March 04, 2013
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