Pneumococcal Capsular Switching: A Historical Perspective
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background . Changes in serotype prevalence among pneumococcal populations result from both serotype replacement and serotype (capsular) switching. Temporal changes in serotype distributions are well documented, but the contribution of capsular switching to such changes is unknown. Furthermore, it is unclear to what extent vaccine-induced selective pressures drive capsular switching. Methods . Serotype and multilocus sequence typing data for 426 pneumococci dated from 1937 through 2007 were analyzed. Whole-genome sequence data for a subset of isola tes were used to investigate capsular switching events. Results . We identi fi ed 36 independent capsular switch events, 18 of which were explored in detail with whole- genome sequence data. Recombination fragment lengths were estimated for 11 events and ranged from approximately 19.0 kb to ≥ 58.2 kb. Two events took place no later than 1960, and the imported DNA included the capsular locus and the nearby penicillin-binding protein genes pbp2x and pbp1a . Conclusions . Capsular switching has been a regular occurrence among pneumococcal populations throughout the past 7 decades. Recombination of large DNA fragments (>30 kb), sometimes including the capsular locus and penicil- lin-binding protein genes, predated both vaccine introducti on and widespread antibiotic use. This type of recombina- tion has likely been an intrinsic feature throughout the history of pneumococcal evolution.
Date Issued
2012-11-21
Date Acceptance
2012-09-18
ISSN
0022-1899
Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
Start Page
439
End Page
449
Journal / Book Title
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Volume
207
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2012 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious
Diseases Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Diseases Society of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000313216300011&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
MR/K010174/1B
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Immunology
Infectious Diseases
Microbiology
Capsule
serotype
switching
pneumococcus
PNEUMONIAE SEROTYPE 14
STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE
CONJUGATE VACCINE
EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS
INVASIVE-DISEASE
UNITED-STATES
HEAT-SHOCK
CLONE
CHILDREN
LOCUS
Bacterial Capsules
Base Sequence
Evolution, Molecular
Genes, Bacterial
Genetic Loci
Humans
Molecular Sequence Data
Multilocus Sequence Typing
Sequence Alignment
Serotyping
Streptococcus pneumoniae
11 Medical And Health Sciences
06 Biological Sciences
Publication Status
Published