Wall teichoic acid structure governs horizontal gene transfer between major bacterial pathogens

Volker Winstel, Chunguang Liang, Patricia Sanchez-Carballo, Matthias Steglich, Marta Munar, Barbara M. Bröker, Jose R. Penadés, Ulrich Nübel, Otto Holst, Thomas Dandekar, Andreas Peschel () and Guoqing Xia
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Volker Winstel: Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen
Chunguang Liang: Bioinformatik, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland
Patricia Sanchez-Carballo: Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine and Biosciences
Matthias Steglich: Robert Koch Institute
Marta Munar: Bioinformatik, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland
Barbara M. Bröker: Institute of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, F.-Sauerbruchstraße
Jose R. Penadés: Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV-CSIC)
Ulrich Nübel: Robert Koch Institute
Otto Holst: Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine and Biosciences
Thomas Dandekar: Bioinformatik, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland
Andreas Peschel: Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen
Guoqing Xia: Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, University of Tübingen

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) encoding virulence and resistance genes are widespread in bacterial pathogens, but it has remained unclear how they occasionally jump to new host species. Staphylococcus aureus clones exchange MGEs such as S. aureus pathogenicity islands (SaPIs) with high frequency via helper phages. Here we report that the S. aureus ST395 lineage is refractory to horizontal gene transfer (HGT) with typical S. aureus but exchanges SaPIs with other species and genera including Staphylococcus epidermidis and Listeria monocytogenes. ST395 produces an unusual wall teichoic acid (WTA) resembling that of its HGT partner species. Notably, distantly related bacterial species and genera undergo efficient HGT with typical S. aureus upon ectopic expression of S. aureus WTA. Combined with genomic analyses, these results indicate that a ‘glycocode’ of WTA structures and WTA-binding helper phages permits HGT even across long phylogenetic distances thereby shaping the evolution of Gram-positive pathogens.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3345

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