Recombination-Mediated Host Adaptation by Avian Staphylococcus aureus.
Staphylococcus aureus are globally disseminated among farmed chickens causing skeletal muscle infections, dermatitis, and septicaemia. The emergence of poultry-associated lineages has involved zoonotic transmission from humans to chickens but questions remain about the specific adaptations that promote proliferation of chicken pathogens. We characterized genetic variation in a population of genome-sequenced S. aureus isolates of poultry and human origin. Genealogical analysis identified a dominant poultry-associated sequence cluster within the CC5 clonal complex. Poultry and human CC5 isolates were significantly distinct from each other and more recombination events were detected in the poultry isolates. We identified 44 recombination events in 33 genes along the branch extending to the poultry-specific CC5 cluster, and 47 genes were found more often in CC5 poultry isolates compared with those from humans. Many of these gene sequences were common in chicken isolates from other clonal complexes suggesting horizontal gene transfer among poultry associated lineages. Consistent with functional predictions for putative poultry-associated genes, poultry isolates showed enhanced growth at 42 °C and greater erythrocyte lysis on chicken blood agar in comparison with human isolates. By combining phenotype information with evolutionary analyses of staphylococcal genomes, we provide evidence of adaptation, following a human-to-poultry host transition. This has important implications for the emergence and dissemination of new pathogenic clones associated with modern agriculture.
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.
Susan
S
Murray
The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, United Kingdom.|MRC CLIMB Consortium, United Kingdom.
Ben
B
Pascoe
The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, United Kingdom.
Guillaume
G
Méric
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.
Leonardos
L
Mageiros
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.|The Biostatistics Center, Kurume University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Koji
K
Yahara
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.
Matthew D
MD
Hitchings
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.
Yasmin
Y
Friedmann
Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, United Kingdom.
Thomas S
TS
Wilkinson
Brewdog PLC, Balmacassie Industrial Estate, Ellon, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom.
Fraser J
FJ
Gormley
Bioscientia Labor Ingelheim, Institut für Medizinische Diagnostik GmbH, Ingelheim, Germany.
Dietrich
D
Mack
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
James E
JE
Bray
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Sarah
S
Lamble
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Rory
R
Bowden
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Keith A
KA
Jolley
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Martin C J
MCJ
Maiden
Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Neustadt, Germany.
Sarah
S
Wendlandt
Institute of Farm Animal Genetics, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Neustadt, Germany.
Stefan
S
Schwarz
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, Norway.
Jukka
J
Corander
The Roslin Institute and Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
J Ross
JR
Fitzgerald
The Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, United Kingdom.|MRC CLIMB Consortium, United Kingdom.|Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Samuel K
SK
Sheppard
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal / Q000235:genetics; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D013045:Species Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
Staphylococcus; evolution; genomics; poultry infection; recombination