Toxins Carried by Mobile Genetic Elements
José R Penadés and J. Ross Fitzgerald
from: Microbial Toxins: Current Research and Future Trends (Edited by: Thomas Proft). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2009)
Abstract
The identification of accessory genetic elements (plasmids, bacteriophages, and 'pathogenicity islands') encoding virulence-associated genes has facilitated our efforts to understand the evolution of pathogenic microorganisms. In many cases, toxigenic bacteria including Vibrio cholerae, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, acquired virulence by acquisition of toxin genes carried in mobile genetic elements. In fact, mobile genetic elements have had a profound influence on the emergence of pathogenic clones of these bacteria. In order to trace the evolution of pathogens from their non-pathogenic progenitors, it is important to identify and characterize the genetic elements that mediate lateral acquisition of virulence genes. Understanding the evolutionary events that lead to the emergence of pathogenic clones may provide new approaches to the control of infectious diseases read more ...
