Emergence of host-adapted <i>Salmonella</i> Enteritidis through rapid evolution in an immunocompromised host.

ABSTRACT: Host adaptation is a key factor contributing to the emergence of new bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens. Many pathogens are considered promiscuous because they cause disease across a range of host species, while others are host-adapted, infecting particular hosts¹. Host adaptation can potentially progress to host restriction where the pathogen is strictly limited to a single host species and is frequently associated with more severe symptoms. Host-adapted and host-restricted bacterial clades evolve from within a broader host-promiscuous species and sometimes target different niches within their specialist hosts, such as adapting from a mucosal to a systemic lifestyle. Genome degradation, marked by gene inactivation and deletion, is a key feature of host adaptation, althoug

SUBMITTER: Klemm EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4843968 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature