Edmund Loh Laboratory

Pathogenic Neisseria express type four pili (Tfp) which are important for adhesion, aggregation and transformation. Some strains of N. meningitidis are able to vary the sequence of the major subunit (PilE) of the Tfp. The mechanisms underlying this variation are not fully defined but the process requires several non-coding elements that are found adjacent to the pilE gene. In this work, Edmund and colleagues have identified a cis-encoded RNA antisense to pilE in N. meningitidis. Using Northern blot and RT-PCR analysis, they have found that the RNA is expressed in stationary phase or following salt stress. This work also indicates that this RNA does not significantly affect pilE or pilin expression levels but instead appears to modulate pilin variation.

Edmund Loh article in Nature Research Microbiology Community, published June 26, 2020.

Edmund Loh article in SCELSE, published 25 May, 2020.

Selected Publications

RNA Thermometers in Bacterial Pathogens.
Loh E, Righetti F, Eichner H, Twittenhoff C, Narberhaus F
Microbiol Spectr 2018 04;6(2):

Thermoregulation of Meningococcal fHbp, an Important Virulence Factor and Vaccine Antigen, Is Mediated by Anti-ribosomal Binding Site Sequences in the Open Reading Frame.
Loh E, Lavender H, Tan F, Tracy A, Tang CM
PLoS Pathog. 2016 08;12(8):e1005794

Structure and mechanism of a molecular rheostat, an RNA thermometer that modulates immune evasion by Neisseria meningitidis.
Barnwal RP, Loh E, Godin KS, Yip J, Lavender H, Tang CM, et al
Nucleic Acids Res. 2016 Nov;44(19):9426-9437

Characterization of a novel antisense RNA in the major pilin locus of Neisseria meningitidis influencing antigenic variation.
Tan FY, Wörmann ME, Loh E, Tang CM, Exley RM
J. Bacteriol. 2015 May;197(10):1757-68