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Evolution of the Enterococcus faecalis sex pheromone system

R Wirth1, H Hirt, A Muscholl

  • 1Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie-NWFIII, Regensburg, Germany.

Developments in Biological Standardization
|January 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

The Enterococcus faecalis sex pheromone system evolved once into 19 variants. Essential plasmid genes are common, but peptide production is not unique to this bacterium, suggesting a link to virulence.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Enterococcus faecalis utilizes a unique sex pheromone system for plasmid acquisition.
  • This system involves plasmid-encoded genes and functions crucial for efficient plasmid collection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present data modeling the evolution of the Enterococcus faecalis sex pheromone system.
  • To investigate the commonality and specificity of sex pheromone plasmid-encoded genes and functions.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of sex pheromone plasmids.
  • Identification of conserved and unique genes/functions across plasmids.

Main Results:

  • Sex pheromone plasmid-encoded genes essential for plasmid collection are common among most plasmids, with pAM373 showing distant relation.
  • These genes are largely restricted to sex pheromone plasmids, though exceptions exist.
  • The capacity for producing sex pheromone-like peptides is found outside of E. faecalis.

Conclusions:

  • The Enterococcus faecalis sex pheromone system likely evolved a single origin with at least 19 distinct variants.
  • The system is highly specific to E. faecalis and shows a relationship with bacterial virulence.

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