ROCKVILLE, Md.--Scientists at the Institute for Genomic Research announced the completion of two bacterial genome sequences this month.
The sequence of Neisseria meningitis, the primary causative agent of bacterial meningitis, was published in Science on March 10. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, UK, have already been able to derive a detailed understanding of the bacterium’s pathogenicity determinants. And Chiron, which funded the research, has used what has been learned about the microorganism’s genetic structure to identify novel vaccine candidates.
Meningitis was the tenth microbial genome sequencing project completed by the institute. The eleventh and twelfth genomes, Chlamydia trachomatis MoPn and Chlamydia pneumoniae AR39, were published this month in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.