Evolutionary Biology of Pathogenic Enterococci

摘要: This chapter focuses on the properties and ecological features that might contribute to enterococci behaving as a human pathogen. The study of molecular bases host-pathogen interactions constitutes cornerstone new discipline ecogenomics is expected provide insights for disease suppression. wide dissemination cytolysin in from different origins reflect selection additional antieukaryotic activities water or soil niches. Enterococci are ubiquitous microorganisms associated with most mammals birds recovered reptiles, insects, natural environments apparently lacking exposure heavy fecal contamination. Lateral gene transfer (LGT) seems play critical role evolution Enterococcus faecalis E. faecium their adaptation specific environments. In addition, multiplicity mobile foreign elements found available sequenced genomes explain lack synteny between any low-GC organisms. growing knowledge about sequences has revealed multitude strategies bacterial adaptation. A section summarizes genetic (MGE) among distribution other belonging same exchange communities. 154-kb PAI encodes well-known putative enterococcal virulence traits. One-third pathogenicity island (PAI) consists structural genes pheromone-responsive plasmids pAD1 pAM373, indicating evolutionary building-up this was based plasmid-integration events.