Extent of horizontal gene transfer in evolution of Streptococci of the salivarius group.

ABSTRACT: The phylogenetically closely related species Streptococcus salivarius and Streptococcus vestibularis are oral bacteria that are considered commensals, although they can also be found in human infections. The relationship between these two species and the relationship between strains isolated from carriers and strains responsible for invasive infections were investigated by multilocus sequence typing and additional sequence analysis. The clustering of several S. vestibularis alleles and the extent of genomic divergence at certain loci support the conclusion that S. salivarius and S. vestibularis are separate species. The level of sequence diversity in S. salivarius alleles is generally high, whereas that in S. vestibularis alleles is low at certain loci, indicating that the latter species m

SUBMITTER: Delorme C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1797340 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature