Title: Investigating the function of DNA Polymerase I in the Bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae

(Research Advisor: Dr. Janne Cannon, Biology Sponsor: Dr. Ann Matthysse, Mentor: Sharon Taft-Benz)

Jamie Becker

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, a bacterial pathogen, causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea.  N. gonorrhoeae has numerous genes that turn on and off at high frequency via mutations, in a process known as phase variation.  The variation of certain genes that code for cell surface components may contribute to neisserial survival under changing conditions in the human host.  My research focuses on DNA replication as the mechanism by which phase variation occurs in N. gonorrhoeae and will address the question: What role does the DNA replication protein DNA PolI play in phase variation?  I will determine if the polA gene of N. gonorrhoeae is functional, and what effects inactivation of the polA gene has on mutation frequencies and rates of phase variation of bacterial surface components.  An understanding of how N. gonorrhoeae adapts to human host conditions could provide information regarding its ability to escape immune system surveillance, and increase antibiotic resistance.