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.
Aspholm-Hurtig
Marina
M
Department of Odontology, section of Oral Microbiology, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Dailide
Giedrius
G
Lahmann
Martina
M
Kalia
Awdhesh
A
Ilver
Dag
D
Roche
Niamh
N
Vikström
Susanne
S
Sjöström
Rolf
R
Lindén
Sara
S
Bäckström
Anna
A
Lundberg
Carina
C
Arnqvist
Anna
A
Mahdavi
Jafar
J
Nilsson
Ulf J
UJ
Velapatiño
Billie
B
Gilman
Robert H
RH
Gerhard
Markus
M
Alarcon
Teresa
T
López-Brea
Manuel
M
Nakazawa
Teruko
T
Fox
James G
JG
Correa
Pelayo
P
Dominguez-Bello
Maria Gloria
MG
Perez-Perez
Guillermo I
GI
Blaser
Martin J
MJ
Normark
Staffan
S
Carlstedt
Ingemar
I
Oscarson
Stefan
S
Teneberg
Susann
S
Berg
Douglas E
DE
Borén
Thomas
T
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