Virulence Evolution of the Human Pathogen Neisseria meningitidis by Recombination in the Core and Accessory Genome

Abstract

Recombination comprising lateral transfer of entire genes as well as homologous intragenic recombination has a profound impact on meningococcal population structure and genome composition. Our data support the hypothesis that meningococcal virulence is polygenic in nature and that differences in metabolism might contribute to virulence.