Conjugative transfer of streptococcal prophages harboring antibiotic resistance and virulence genes.

ABSTRACT: Prophages play important roles in the transduction of various functional traits, including virulence factors, but remain debatable in harboring and transmitting antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). Herein we characterize a prevalent family of prophages in Streptococcus, designated SMphages, which harbor twenty-five ARGs that collectively confer resistance to ten antimicrobial classes, including vanG-type vancomycin resistance locus and oxazolidinone resistance gene optrA. SMphages integrate into four chromosome attachment sites by utilizing three types of integration modules and undergo excision in response to phage induction. Moreover, we characterize four subtypes of Alp-related surface proteins within SMphages, the lethal effects of which are extensively validated in cell and animal m

SUBMITTER: Huang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10432423 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature