Genome specialization and decay of the strangles pathogen, Streptococcus equi, is driven by persistent infection.

ABSTRACT: Strangles, the most frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide, is caused by Streptococcus equi. Despite its prevalence, the global diversity and mechanisms underlying the evolution of S. equi as a host-restricted pathogen remain poorly understood. Here, we define the global population structure of this important pathogen and reveal a population replacement in the late 19th or early 20th Century. Our data reveal a dynamic genome that continues to mutate and decay, but also to amplify and acquire genes despite the organism having lost its natural competence and become host-restricted. The lifestyle of S. equi within the horse is defined by short-term acute disease, strangles, followed by long-term infection. Population analysis reveals evidence of convergent evolution in is

SUBMITTER: Harris SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4561494 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature