Recombination-mediated remodelling of host-pathogen interactions during Staphylococcus aureus niche adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale recombination events have led to the emergence of epidemic clones of several major bacterial pathogens. However, the functional impact of the recombination on clonal success is not understood. Here, we identified a novel widespread hybrid clone (ST71) of livestock-associated Staphylococcus aureus that evolved from an ancestor belonging to the major bovine lineage CC97, through multiple large-scale recombination events with other S. aureus lineages occupying the same ruminant niche. The recombination events, affecting a 329 kb region of the chromosome spanning the origin of replication, resulted in allele replacement and loss or gain of an array of genes influencing host-pathogen interactions. Of note, molecular functional analyses revealed that the ST71 hybrid clo

SUBMITTER: Spoor LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5320625 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature