Antimicrobial resistance determinants are associated with bacteraemia and adaptation to the healthcare environment: a bacterial genome-wide association study.

is a major bacterial pathogen in humans, and a dominant cause of severe bloodstream infections. Globally, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in remains challenging. While human risk factors for infection have been defined, contradictory evidence exists for the role of bacterial genomic variation in disease.

Nucleotide signaling pathway convergence in a cAMP-sensing bacterial c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase.

Bacterial usage of the cyclic dinucleotide c-di-GMP is widespread, governing the transition between motile/sessile and unicellular/multicellular behaviors. There is limited information on c-di-GMP metabolism, particularly on regulatory mechanisms governing control of EAL c-di-GMP phosphodiesterases. Herein, we provide high-resolution structures for an EAL enzyme Bd1971, from the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, which is controlled by a second signaling nucleotide, cAMP.

Differential Regulation of Genes for Cyclic-di-GMP Metabolism Orchestrates Adaptive Changes During Rhizosphere Colonization by .

Bacteria belonging to the genus are highly successful colonizers of the plant rhizosphere. The ability of different species to live either commensal lifestyles or to act as agents of plant-growth promotion or disease is reflected in a large, highly flexible accessory genome. Nevertheless, adaptation to the plant environment involves a commonality of phenotypic outputs such as changes to motility, coupled with synthesis of nutrient uptake systems, stress-response molecules and adherence factors including exopolysaccharides.

One ligand, two regulators and three binding sites: How KDPG controls primary carbon metabolism in Pseudomonas.

Effective regulation of primary carbon metabolism is critically important for bacteria to successfully adapt to different environments. We have identified an uncharacterised transcriptional regulator; RccR, that controls this process in response to carbon source availability. Disruption of rccR in the plant-associated microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens inhibits growth in defined media, and compromises its ability to colonise the wheat rhizosphere.

Mobile elements drive recombination hotspots in the core genome of Staphylococcus aureus.

Horizontal gene transfer is an important driver of bacterial evolution, but genetic exchange in the core genome of clonal species, including the major pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, is incompletely understood. Here we reveal widespread homologous recombination in S. aureus at the species level, in contrast to its near-complete absence between closely related strains.

Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus protein A (spa) mutants in the community and hospitals in Oxfordshire.

Background: Staphylococcal protein A (spa) is an important virulence factor which enables Staphylococcus aureus to evade host immune responses. Genotypes known as "spa-types", based on highly variable Xr region sequences of the spa-gene, are frequently used to classify strains. A weakness of current spa-typing primers is that rearrangements in the IgG-binding region of the gene cause 1-2% of strains to be designated as "non-typeable".

Dynamics of acquisition and loss of carriage of Staphylococcus aureus strains in the community: the effect of clonal complex.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage increases infection risk. However, few studies have investigated S. aureus acquisition/loss over >1 year, and fewer still used molecular typing.

Within-host evolution of Staphylococcus aureus during asymptomatic carriage.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of healthcare associated mortality, but like many important bacterial pathogens, it is a common constituent of the normal human body flora. Around a third of healthy adults are carriers. Recent evidence suggests that evolution of S.

Evolutionary dynamics of Staphylococcus aureus during progression from carriage to disease.

Whole-genome sequencing offers new insights into the evolution of bacterial pathogens and the etiology of bacterial disease. Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of bacteria-associated mortality and invasive disease and is carried asymptomatically by 27% of adults. Eighty percent of bacteremias match the carried strain.

Discrete cyclic di-GMP-dependent control of bacterial predation versus axenic growth in Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a Delta-proteobacterium that oscillates between free-living growth and predation on Gram-negative bacteria including important pathogens of man, animals and plants. After entering the prey periplasm, killing the prey and replicating inside the prey bdelloplast, several motile B. bacteriovorus progeny cells emerge.

Molecular epidemiology of Clostridium difficile strains in children compared with that of strains circulating in adults with Clostridium difficile-associated infection.

Molecular analysis of Clostridium difficile (28 isolates) from children (n = 128) in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, identified eight toxigenic genotypes. Six of these were isolated from 27% of concurrent adult C. difficile-associated infections studied (n = 83).

Multilocus sequence typing of Clostridium difficile.

A robust high-throughput multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme for Clostridium difficile was developed and validated using a diverse collection of 50 reference isolates representing 45 different PCR ribotypes and 102 isolates from recent clinical samples. A total of 49 PCR ribotypes were represented overall. All isolates were typed by MLST and yielded 40 sequence types (STs).