Manipulation of natural transformation by AbaR-type islands promotes fixation of antibiotic resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii.

ABSTRACT: The opportunistic pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii, carries variants of A. baumannii resistance islands (AbaR)-type genomic islands conferring multidrug resistance. Their pervasiveness in the species has remained enigmatic. The dissemination of AbaRs is intricately linked to their horizontal transfer via natural transformation, a process through which bacteria can import and recombine exogenous DNA, effecting allelic recombination, genetic acquisition, and deletion. In experimental populations of the closely related pathogenic Acinetobacter nosocomialis, we quantified the rates at which these natural transformation events occur between individuals. When integrated into a model of population dynamics, they lead to the swift removal of AbaRs from the population, contrast

SUBMITTER: Tuffet R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11441513 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature