Genome evolution driven by host adaptations results in a more virulent and antimicrobial-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14

Feng Ding, Petrus Tang, Mei Hua Hsu, Peng Cui, Songnian Hu, Jun Yu, Cheng Hsun Chiu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

56 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 14 is one of the most common pneumococcal serotypes that cause invasive pneumococcal diseases worldwide. Serotype 14 often expresses resistance to a variety of antimicrobial agents, resulting in difficulties in treatment. To gain insight into the evolution of virulence and antimicrobial resistance traits in S. pneumoniae from the genome level, we sequenced the entire genome of a serotype 14 isolate (CGSP14), and carried out comprehensive comparison with other pneumococcal genomes. Multiple serotype 14 clinical isolates were also genotyped by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Results: Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the CGSP14 acquired a number of new genes by horizontal gene transfer (HGT), most of which were associated with virulence and antimicrobial resistance and clustered in mobile genetic elements. The most remarkable feature is the acquisition of two conjugative transposons and one resistance island encoding eight resistance genes. Results of MLST suggested that the major driving force for the genome evolution is the environmental drug pressure. Conclusion: The genome sequence of S. pneumoniae serotype 14 shows a bacterium with rapid adaptations to its lifecycle in human community. These include a versatile genome content, with a wide range of mobile elements, and chromosomal rearrangement; the latter re-balanced the genome after events of HGT.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number158
JournalBMC genomics
Volume10
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 13 2009
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We thank Jianing Geng for helpful discussions. This work was supported by a grant from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan (CMRPG460051).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Genetics

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