The Prophage and Plasmid Mobilome as a Likely Driver of Mycobacterium abscessus Diversity.

ABSTRACT: Mycobacterium abscessus is an emerging pathogen that is often refractory to antibiotic control. Treatment is further complicated by considerable variation among clinical isolates in both their genetic constitution and their clinical manifestations. Here, we show that the prophage and plasmid mobilome is a likely contributor to this variation. Prophages and plasmids are common, abundant, and highly diverse, and code for large repertoires of genes influencing virulence, antibiotic susceptibility, and defense against viral infection. At least 85% of the strains we describe carry one or more prophages, representing at least 17 distinct and diverse sequence "clusters," integrated at 18 different attB locations. The prophages code for 19 distinct configurations of polymorphic toxin

SUBMITTER: Dedrick RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8092301 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature