A Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain with a meningococcal mtrR sequence

Abstract

Genetic exchange between species within the Neisseria genus is well recognized (Linz et al., 2000) and can have important implications for the management of gonorrhoea, both in terms of detecting gonorrhoea by nucleic acid amplification tests and through the development of gonococcal antimicrobial resistance. For example, cross-reaction of commercial and in-house Neisseria gonorrhoeae nucleic acid amplification tests with commensal Neisseria species has been well documented (Farrell, 1999; Linz et al., 2000; Tabrizi et al., 2011). Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that the acquisition of resistance determinants from commensal Neisseria species is one of the prime pathways leading to N. gonorrhoeae antimicrobial resistance; such determinants include the well-documented N. gonorrhoeae ‘mosaic’ penA sequences, which are thought to have been acquired from commensal Neisseria and are implicated in N. gonorrhoeae resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (Ameyama et al., 2002; Unemo et al., 2012). Here, we report a novel ‘Neisseria meningitidis-like’ mtrR sequence in N. gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin.