Novel method for prediction of combinatorial phase-variable gene expression states

Short sequence repeat mediated phase variation results in diverse phenotype presentation in many bacteria including Campylobacter and Neisseria • Inputting of sweep and single colony data into an algorithm for a rapid determination of the combinatorial phase variation states (phasotypes) for repeat-mediated phase-variable bacterial genes; • This method reduces the number of single colony samples required to produce accurate estimates of phasotypes; • This method will reduce the costs of phasotype analyses and increase potential to analyse more time points or sample sites leading to an improved understanding of how phase variation contributes to bacterial host persistence and the ability to cause disease.