# Is DNA uptake the Achilles Heel of N. gonorrhoeae?

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2021 · $238,120

## Abstract

Project Summary
 We recently discovered that commensal Neisseria kill Ngo through a novel mechanism that is based on genetic
competence and DNA methylation state. Consistent with these in vitro findings, human commensal N. elongata (Nel)
accelerates Ngo clearance from the mouse, and an Ngo DNA uptake mutant resists this clearance. We propose a
model for how commensal Neisseria DNA kills Ngo. Based on these and other findings, we hypothesize that any DNA
has the potential to kill Ngo, provided it is taken up into the cell and its methylation pattern is considered foreign to
the pathogen. In this R21, we propose to this idea using in vitro approaches and the mouse model of Ngo lower
genital tract infection. These studies allow us to assess the potential of DNA as an alternative gonococcal microbicide
and shed light on a little understood facet of commensal Neisseria-pathogenic Neisseria interactions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10132982
- **Project number:** 5R21AI151117-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** MAGDALENE Y SO
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $238,120
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10132982

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10132982, Is DNA uptake the Achilles Heel of N. gonorrhoeae? (5R21AI151117-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10132982. Licensed CC0.

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