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Genome specialization and decay of the strangles pathogen, Streptococcus equi, is driven by persistent infection

Simon R. Harris, Carl Robinson, Karen F. Steward, Katy S. Webb, Romain Paillot, Julian Parkhill, Matthew T. G. Holden, Andrew S. Waller
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/014118
Simon R. Harris
1The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.
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Carl Robinson
2The Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU, United Kingdom.
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Karen F. Steward
2The Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU, United Kingdom.
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Katy S. Webb
2The Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU, United Kingdom.
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Romain Paillot
2The Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU, United Kingdom.
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Julian Parkhill
1The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.
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Matthew T. G. Holden
1The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.
3School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9TF, United Kingdom.
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Andrew S. Waller
2The Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, CB8 7UU, United Kingdom.
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ABSTRACT

Strangles, the most frequently diagnosed infectious disease of horses worldwide, is caused by Streptococcus equi. Despite its prevalence, the global diversity and mechanisms underlying the evolution of S. equi as a host-restricted pathogen remain poorly understood. Here we define the global population structure of this important pathogen and reveal a population replacement in the late 19th or early 20th century, contemporaneous with a spate of global conflicts. Our data reveal a dynamic genome that continues to mutate and decay, but also to amplify and acquire genes despite the organism having lost its natural competence and become host-restricted.

The lifestyle of S. equi within the horse is defined by short-term acute disease, strangles, followed by long-term carriage. Population analysis reveals evidence of convergent evolution in isolates from post-acute disease samples, as a result of niche adaptation to persistent carriage within a host. Mutations that lead to metabolic streamlining and the loss of virulence determinants are more frequently found in carriage isolates, suggesting that the pathogenic potential of S. equi reduces as a consequence of long term residency within the horse post acute disease. An example of this is the deletion of the equibactin siderophore locus that is associated with iron acquisition, which occurs exclusively in carrier isolates, and renders S. equi significantly less able to cause acute disease in the natural host. We identify several loci that may similarly be required for the full virulence of S. equi, directing future research towards the development of new vaccines against this host-restricted pathogen.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted January 22, 2015.
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Genome specialization and decay of the strangles pathogen, Streptococcus equi, is driven by persistent infection
Simon R. Harris, Carl Robinson, Karen F. Steward, Katy S. Webb, Romain Paillot, Julian Parkhill, Matthew T. G. Holden, Andrew S. Waller
bioRxiv 014118; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/014118
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Genome specialization and decay of the strangles pathogen, Streptococcus equi, is driven by persistent infection
Simon R. Harris, Carl Robinson, Karen F. Steward, Katy S. Webb, Romain Paillot, Julian Parkhill, Matthew T. G. Holden, Andrew S. Waller
bioRxiv 014118; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/014118

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