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Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes that frequently colonise the human nasopharynx are common recipients of penicillin-binding protein gene fragments from Streptococcus mitis

Kalizang'oma, A; Chaguza, C; Gori, A; Davison, C; Beleza, S; Antonio, M; Beall, B; ... Heyderman, RS; + view all (2021) Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes that frequently colonise the human nasopharynx are common recipients of penicillin-binding protein gene fragments from Streptococcus mitis. Microbial Genomics , 7 (9) , Article 000622. 10.1099/mgen.0.000622. Green open access

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Abstract

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important global pathogen that causes bacterial pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis. Beta-lactam antibiotics are the first-line treatment for pneumococcal disease, however, their effectiveness is hampered by beta-lactam resistance facilitated by horizontal genetic transfer (HGT) with closely related species. Although interspecies HGT is known to occur among the species of the genus Streptococcus , the rates and effects of HGT between Streptococcus pneumoniae and its close relatives involving the penicillin binding protein (pbp) genes remain poorly understood. Here we applied the fastGEAR tool to investigate interspecies HGT in pbp genes using a global collection of whole-genome sequences of Streptococcus mitis , Streptococcus oralis and S. pneumoniae . With these data, we established that pneumococcal serotypes 6A, 13, 14, 16F, 19A, 19F, 23F and 35B were the highest-ranking serotypes with acquired pbp fragments. S. mitis was a more frequent pneumococcal donor of pbp fragments and a source of higher pbp nucleotide diversity when compared with S. oralis . Pneumococci that acquired pbp fragments were associated with a higher minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for penicillin compared with pneumococci without acquired fragments. Together these data indicate that S. mitis contributes to reduced β-lactam susceptibility among commonly carried pneumococcal serotypes that are associated with long carriage duration and high recombination frequencies. As pneumococcal vaccine programmes mature, placing increasing pressure on the pneumococcal population structure, it will be important to monitor the influence of antimicrobial resistance HGT from commensal streptococci such as S. mitis .

Type: Article
Title: Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes that frequently colonise the human nasopharynx are common recipients of penicillin-binding protein gene fragments from Streptococcus mitis
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000622
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000622
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2021 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
Keywords: beta-lactam resistance, horizontal gene transfer, penicillin binding protein genes, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis and Streptococcus pneumoniae
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Infection and Immunity
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Dept
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135397
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