Leaky barriers to gene sharing between locally co-existing coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species

Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) are opportunistic pathogens implicated in many human and animal infections. The evolutionary history of CoNS remains obscure because of the historical lack of recognition for their clinical importance and poor taxonomic sampling. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 191 CoNS isolates representing 15 species sampled from diseased animals diagnosed in a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. We found that CoNS are important reservoirs of diverse phages, plasmids and mobilizable genes encoding antimicrobial resistance, heavy metal resistance, and virulence. Frequent exchange of DNA between certain donor-recipient partners suggests that specific lineages act as hubs of gene sharing. We also detected frequent recombination between CoNS regardless of their animal host species, indicating that ecological barriers to horizontal gene transfer can be surmounted in co-circulating lineages. Our findings reveal frequent but structured patterns of transfer that exist within and between CoNS species, which are driven by their overlapping ecology and geographical proximity.