Genetic variation in sialidase and linkage to N-acetylneuraminate catabolism in Mycoplasma synoviae.

ABSTRACT: We explored the genetic basis for intraspecific variation in mycoplasmal sialidase activity that correlates with virulence, and its potentially advantageous linkage to nutrient catabolism. Polymorphism in N-acetylneuraminate scavenging and degradation genes (sialidase, N-acetylneuraminate lyase, N-acetylmannosamine kinase, N-acetylmannosamine-6-phosphate epimerase, N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphate deacetylase, and glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase) was evident among eight strains of the avian pathogen Mycoplasma synoviae. Most differences were single nucleotide polymorphisms, ranging from 0.34+/-0.04 substitutions per 100 bp for N-acetylmannosamine kinase to 0.65+/-0.03 for the single-copy sialidase gene nanI. Missense mutations were twice as common as silent mutations in nanI; 26% resulted

SUBMITTER: May M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2507593 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature