Newly introduced genomic prophage islands are critical determinants of in vivo competitiveness in the Liverpool Epidemic Strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates have a highly conserved core genome representing up to 90% of the total genomic sequence with additional variable accessory genes, many of which are found in genomic islands or islets. The identification of the Liverpool Epidemic Strain (LES) in a children's cystic fibrosis (CF) unit in 1996 and its subsequent observation in several centers in the United Kingdom challenged the previous widespread assumption that CF patients acquire only unique strains of P. aeruginosa from the environment. To learn about the forces that shaped the development of this important epidemic strain, the genome of the earliest archived LES isolate, LESB58, was sequenced. The sequence revealed the presence of many large genomic islands, including five prophage clusters, one defectiv

SUBMITTER: Winstanley C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2612960 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature