Genetic and phenotypic diversity in Burkholderia: contributions by prophage and phage-like elements.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Burkholderia species exhibit enormous phenotypic diversity, ranging from the nonpathogenic, soil- and water-inhabiting Burkholderia thailandensis to the virulent, host-adapted mammalian pathogen B. mallei. Genomic diversity is evident within Burkholderia species as well. Individual isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. thailandensis, for example, carry a variety of strain-specific genomic islands (GIs), including putative pathogenicity and metabolic islands, prophage-like islands, and prophages. These GIs may provide some strains with a competitive advantage in the environment and/or in the host relative to other strains.

Results

Here we present the results of analysis of 37 prophages, putative prophages, and prophage-like elements from six different Burkho

SUBMITTER: Ronning CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2920897 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature