Functional adaptation of BabA, the H. pylori ABO blood group antigen binding adhesin.
Adherence by Helicobacter pylori increases the risk of gastric disease. Here, we report that more than 95% of strains that bind fucosylated blood group antigen bind A, B, and O antigens (generalists), whereas 60% of adherent South American Amerindian strains bind blood group O antigens best (specialists). This specialization coincides with the unique predominance of blood group O in these Amerindians. Strains differed about 1500-fold in binding affinities, and diversifying selection was evident in babA sequences. We propose that cycles of selection for increased and decreased bacterial adherence contribute to babA diversity and that these cycles have led to gradual replacement of generalist binding by specialist binding in blood group O-dominant human populations.
Department of Odontology, section of Oral Microbiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Marina
M
Aspholm-Hurtig
Giedrius
G
Dailide
Martina
M
Lahmann
Awdhesh
A
Kalia
Dag
D
Ilver
Niamh
N
Roche
Susanne
S
Vikström
Rolf
R
Sjöström
Sara
S
Lindén
Anna
A
Bäckström
Carina
C
Lundberg
Anna
A
Arnqvist
Jafar
J
Mahdavi
Ulf J
UJ
Nilsson
Billie
B
Velapatiño
Robert H
RH
Gilman
Markus
M
Gerhard
Teresa
T
Alarcon
Manuel
M
López-Brea
Teruko
T
Nakazawa
James G
JG
Fox
Pelayo
P
Correa
Maria Gloria
MG
Dominguez-Bello
Guillermo I
GI
Perez-Perez
Martin J
MJ
Blaser
Staffan
S
Normark
Ingemar
I
Carlstedt
Stefan
S
Oscarson
Susann
S
Teneberg
Douglas E
DE
Berg
Thomas
T
Borén
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000378:metabolism*; D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000483:Alleles; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005643:Fucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010568:Peru; D010641:Phenotype; D010802:Phylogeny; D011485:Protein Binding; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; C400429:BabA protein, Helicobacter pylori; C102547:H1 blood group antigen; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens; D005643:Fucose