Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes that frequently colonise the human nasopharynx are common recipients of penicillin-binding protein gene fragments from Streptococcus mitis.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important global pathogen that causes bacterial pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. Beta-lactam antibiotics are the first-line treatment for pneumococcal disease, however, their effectiveness is hampered by beta-lactam resistance facilitated by horizontal genetic transfer (HGT) with closely related species. Although interspecies HGT is known to occur among the species of the genus Streptococcus, the rates and effects of HGT between Streptococcus pneumoniae and its close relatives involving the penicillin binding protein (pbp) genes remain poorly understood. Here we applied the fastGEAR tool to investigate interspecies HGT in pbp genes using a global collection of whole-genome sequences of Streptococcus mitis, Strepto

SUBMITTER: Kalizang'oma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8715442 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature