Comparative evolutionary analysis of the major structural subunit of Vibrio vulnificus type IV pili.

ABSTRACT: Type IV pili contribute to virulence in Vibrio vulnificus, the bacterium responsible for the majority of fatal seafood-related infections. Here, we performed within- and between-species evolutionary analysis of the gene that encodes the major structural subunit of the pilus, pilA, by comparing it with pilD and gyrB, the genes encoding the type IV prepilin peptidase and beta subunit of DNA gyrase, respectively. Although the diversity in pilD and gyrB is similar to each other and likely to have accumulated after speciation of V. vulnificus, pilA is several times more diverse at both nonsynonymous and synonymous levels. Also, in contrast to pilD and gyrB, there are virtually unrestricted and highly localized horizontal movements of pilA alleles between the major phylogenetic groups of V. vuln

SUBMITTER: Chattopadhyay S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2766934 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature