Comparative Analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae Type I Restriction-Modification Loci: Variation in hsdS Gene Target Recognition Domains.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a respiratory commensal pathogen that causes a range of infections, particularly in young children and the elderly. Pneumococci undergo spontaneous phase variation in colony opacity phenotype, in which DNA rearrangements within the Type I restriction-modification (R-M) system specificity gene hsdS can potentially generate up to six different hsdS alleles with differential DNA methylation activity, resulting in changes in gene expression. To gain a broader perspective of this system, we performed bioinformatic analyses of Type I R-M loci from 18 published pneumococcal genomes, and one R-M locus sequenced for this study, to compare genetic content, organization, and homology. All 19 loci encoded the genes hsdR, hsdM, hsdS, and at least one hsdS pseu

SUBMITTER: Oliver MB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7557576 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature