Journal ArticleOpen Access
The role of interspecies recombination in the evolution of antibiotic-resistant pneumococci
Author Affiliations
London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research, Imperial College London, RWTH Aachen University, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ...
Published IneLife
Year2021
Citations45
Abstract
Multidrug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae emerge through the modification of core genome loci by interspecies homologous recombinations, and acquisition of gene cassettes. Both occurred in the otherwise contrasting histories of the antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae lineages PMEN3 and PMEN9. A single PMEN3 clade spread globally, evading vaccine-induced immunity through frequent serotype switching, whereas locally circulating PMEN9 clades independently gained resistance. Both lineages repeatedly integrated Tn 916 -type and Tn 1207.1 -type elements, conferring tetracycline and macrolide resistance, respectively, through homologous recombination importing sequences originating in other species. A species-wide dataset found over 100 instances of such interspecific acquisitions of resistance cassettes and flanking homologous arms. Phylodynamic analysis of the most commonly sampled Tn 1207.1 -type insertion in PMEN9, originating from a commensal and…
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