Genetic requirement for pneumococcal ear infection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ear infection or otitis media (OM) accounts for most bacterial respiratory infections in children in both developed and developing nations. Streptococcus pneumoniae, nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis are the major OM pathogens. However, little is known about the genetic basis of bacterial OM largely due to practical difficulties in conducting research in ear infection models and genetically manipulating clinical isolates. Here, we report the first genome-scale in vivo screen for bacterial genes required for ear infection in a chinchilla model by signature tagged mutagenesis (STM), a high throughput mutant screen technique.

Methodology/principal findings

STM strains were constructed with a multi-drug resistant OM isolate ST556 (serotype

SUBMITTER: Chen H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2593789 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature