Article abstract
Nature Genetics 39, 1469 - 1476 (2007)
Published online: 25 November 2007 | doi:10.1038/ng.2007.38
Genomic analysis of Bartonella identifies type IV secretion systems as host adaptability factors
Henri L Saenz1,7, Philipp Engel1,7, Michèle C Stoeckli1, Christa Lanz2, Günter Raddatz2,6, Muriel Vayssier-Taussat1,3, Richard Birtles4, Stephan C Schuster2,5 & Christoph Dehio1
Abstract
The bacterial genus Bartonella comprises 21 pathogens causing characteristic intraerythrocytic infections. Bartonella bacilliformis is a severe pathogen representing an ancestral lineage, whereas the other species are benign pathogens that evolved by radial speciation. Here, we have used comparative and functional genomics to infer pathogenicity genes specific to the radiating lineage, and we suggest that these genes may have facilitated adaptation to the host environment. We determined the complete genome sequence of Bartonella tribocorum by shotgun sequencing and functionally identified 97 pathogenicity genes by signature-tagged mutagenesis. Eighty-one pathogenicity genes belong to the core genome (1,097 genes) of the radiating lineage inferred from genome comparison of B. tribocorum, Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana. Sixty-six pathogenicity genes are present in B. bacilliformis, and one has been lost by deletion. The 14 pathogenicity genes specific for the radiating lineage encode two laterally acquired type IV secretion systems, suggesting that these systems have a role in host adaptability.
- Focal Area Infection Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
- Unité de Biologie Moléculaire et Immunologie Parasitaire et Fongique, Institut Scientifique de Recherche Agronomique, Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d'Alfort, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7LB, UK.
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Center for Comparative Genomics and Bioinformatics, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
- Present address: Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, D-72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: Christoph Dehio1 e-mail: christoph.dehio@unibas.ch
Correspondence to: Stephan C Schuster2,5 e-mail: scs@bx.psu.edu
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
RESEARCH
Comparison of genome degradation in Paratyphi A and Typhi, human-restricted serovars of Salmonella enterica that cause typhoidNature Genetics Article (01 Dec 2004)
See all 2 matches for Research
