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Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus
10:39

Methodology for the Study of Horizontal Gene Transfer in Staphylococcus aureus

Published on: March 10, 2017

Wall teichoic acid structure governs horizontal gene transfer between major bacterial pathogens

Volker Winstel1, Chunguang Liang, Patricia Sanchez-Carballo

  • 1Cellular and Molecular Microbiology Division, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen, Elfriede-Aulhorn-Straße 6, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

Nature Communications
|August 23, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) facilitate bacterial pathogen evolution. A novel

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Bacterial genetics
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) carrying virulence and resistance genes are common in bacterial pathogens.
  • The mechanisms enabling MGEs to transfer between different bacterial species remain largely unknown.
  • Staphylococcus aureus frequently exchanges MGEs, like S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs), via helper phages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) across different bacterial species.
  • To understand how Staphylococcus aureus ST395, a specific lineage, exchanges MGEs with other species.
  • To identify factors that permit HGT across significant phylogenetic distances.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative genomic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus ST395 and other bacterial species.
  • Investigation of wall teichoic acid (WTA) structures in different bacterial lineages.
  • Experimental manipulation of WTA expression in bacteria to assess HGT efficiency.

Main Results:

  • The S. aureus ST395 lineage, unlike typical S. aureus, exchanges SaPIs with species like Staphylococcus epidermidis and Listeria monocytogenes.
  • ST395 exhibits an unusual WTA structure that resembles that of its HGT partners.
  • Ectopic expression of S. aureus WTA in distantly related bacteria enables efficient HGT with typical S. aureus.

Conclusions:

  • A 'glycocode' involving WTA structures and specific helper phages facilitates HGT across broad phylogenetic distances.
  • This mechanism shapes the evolution of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens.
  • Understanding this 'glycocode' is crucial for controlling the spread of virulence and resistance genes.

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