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



Kalizang'oma, Akuzike, Chaguza, Chrispin ORCID: 0000-0002-2108-1757, Gori, Andrea, Davison, Charlotte, Beleza, Sandra, Antonio, Martin, Beall, Bernard, Goldblatt, David, Kwambana-Adams, Brenda, Bentley, Stephen D
et al (show 1 more authors) (2021) <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> serotypes that frequently colonise the human nasopharynx are common recipients of penicillin-binding protein gene fragments from <i>Streptococcus mitis</i>. MICROBIAL GENOMICS, 7 (9). 000622-.

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Abstract

<i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> 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 <i>Streptococcus</i>, the rates and effects of HGT between <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i> and its close relatives involving the penicillin binding protein (<i>pbp</i>) genes remain poorly understood. Here we applied the fastGEAR tool to investigate interspecies HGT in <i>pbp</i> genes using a global collection of whole-genome sequences of <i>Streptococcus mitis</i>, <i>Streptococcus oralis</i> and <i>S. pneumoniae</i>. With these data, we established that pneumococcal serotypes 6A, 13, 14, 16F, 19A, 19F, 23F and 35B were the highest-ranking serotypes with acquired <i>pbp</i> fragments. <i>S. mitis</i> was a more frequent pneumococcal donor of <i>pbp</i> fragments and a source of higher <i>pbp</i> nucleotide diversity when compared with <i>S. oralis</i>. Pneumococci that acquired <i>pbp</i> fragments were associated with a higher minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for penicillin compared with pneumococci without acquired fragments. Together these data indicate that <i>S. mitis</i> 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 <i>S. mitis</i>.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: beta-lactam resistance, horizontal gene transfer, penicillin binding protein genes, Streptococcus mitis, Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus pneumoniae
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 02 Feb 2022 11:50
Last Modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:36
DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000622
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3148028