The generation of diversity by Haemophilus influenzae

Abstract

This short article has described how microsatellites can be markers for highly adaptable genes responsible for both intra- and interstrain diversity in H. influenzae. Such genes are often associated with allelic polymorphisms and have a heterogeneous distribution. Variation in the length of repetitive sequences is a key factor in the rapid rate of change in gene expression associated with these loci. The contribution of characteristics of microsatellites other than the length of the repetitive tract to the rate of on–off switching has yet to be explored in detail and several questions remain. Why is the same nucleotide sequence often found in different microsatellites in genes of related function? What is the effect on the mutation rate of the different nucleotides and number of nucleotides forming each repeat unit? Finally, the possibility that trans-acting elements affect the rate of slipped-strand mispairing and the repair of these mutations has been raised and merits further investigation14xHypermutation in pathogenic bacteria: frequent phase variation in meningococci is a phenotypic trait of a specialized mutator biotype. Bucci, C. Mol. Cell. 1999; 3: 435–445Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (94)See all References14. An understanding of the multiple factors affecting these hypermutable loci will facilitate future studies to determine how and when this plethora of phenotypes promotes survival.