| Title |
Beyond the Chromosome: The Prevalence of Unique Extra-Chromosomal Bacteriophages with Integrated Virulence Genes in Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
PLOS ONE, June 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0100502 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Bryan Utter, Douglas R. Deutsch, Raymond Schuch, Benjamin Y. Winer, Kathleen Verratti, Kim Bishop-Lilly, Shanmuga Sozhamannan, Vincent A. Fischetti |
| Abstract |
In Staphylococcus aureus, the disease impact of chromosomally integrated prophages on virulence is well described. However, the existence of extra-chromosomal prophages, both plasmidial and episomal, remains obscure. Despite the recent explosion in bacterial and bacteriophage genomic sequencing, studies have failed to specifically focus on extra-chromosomal elements. We selectively enriched and sequenced extra-chromosomal DNA from S. aureus isolates using Roche-454 technology and uncovered evidence for the widespread distribution of multiple extra-chromosomal prophages (ExPΦs) throughout both antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant strains. We completely sequenced one such element comprised of a 43.8 kbp, circular ExPΦ (designated ФBU01) from a vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA) strain. Assembly and annotation of ФBU01 revealed a number of putative virulence determinants encoded within a bacteriophage immune evasion cluster (IEC). Our identification of several potential ExPΦs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) also revealed numerous putative virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes. We describe here a previously unidentified level of genetic diversity of stealth extra-chromosomal elements in S. aureus, including phages with a larger presence outside the chromosome that likely play a prominent role in pathogenesis and strain diversity driven by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). |
X Demographics
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Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 86 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1 | 1% |
| France | 1 | 1% |
| Germany | 1 | 1% |
| Brazil | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 82 | 95% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 18 | 21% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 14 | 16% |
| Student > Master | 12 | 14% |
| Student > Bachelor | 12 | 14% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 12 | 14% |
| Unknown | 14 | 16% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 29 | 34% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 17 | 20% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 15 | 17% |
| Environmental Science | 2 | 2% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 1% |
| Other | 3 | 3% |
| Unknown | 19 | 22% |