A population genetics pedigree perspective on the transmission of Helicobacter pylori.

ABSTRACT: The inference of transmission pathways for medicinally important bacteria is important to our understanding of pathogens. Here we report analyses of transmission in Helicobacter pylori, a major carcinogen. Our study is novel in that the focal community comprises detailed family pedigrees and has a high prevalence of H. pylori. To infer transmission, we performed high-resolution analyses of nucleotide sequences for three genes and accounted for the occurrence of mutation and recombination through the use of simulation modeling. Our results demonstrate that transmission has a strong nonfamilial component potentially the result of a large proportion of infections derived from the community. These results are interesting from both a medical and an evolutionary standpoint. First, efficient cont

SUBMITTER: Delport W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1698626 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature