Pathogenic Neisseria meningitidis isolates contain a polysaccharide capsule that is the
main virulence determinant for this bacterium. Thirteen capsular polysaccharides have been …

Streptomyces coelicolor is a representative of the group of soil-dwelling, filamentous bacteria
responsible for producing most natural antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. …

The emergence of new sequencing technologies has facilitated the use of bacterial whole
genome alignments for evolutionary studies and outbreak analyses. These datasets, of …

Current methods for differentiating isolates of predominant lineages of pathogenic bacteria
often do not provide sufficient resolution to define precise relationships. Here, we describe a …

Staphylococcus aureus is an important nosocomial and community-acquired pathogen. Its
genetic plasticity has facilitated the evolution of many virulent and drug-resistant strains, …

Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica are closely
related Gram-negative β-proteobacteria that colonize the respiratory tracts of mammals. B. …

Background Animals can act as a reservoir and source for the emergence of novel meticillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones in human beings. Here, we report the …

Epidemiological studies of the naturally transformable bacterial pathogen Streptococcus
pneumoniae have previously been confounded by high rates of recombination. Sequencing …

Several major invasive bacterial pathogens are encapsulated. Expression of a polysaccharide
capsule is essential for survival in the blood, and thus for virulence, but also is a target for …

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a recognized biothreat agent and the causative agent of
melioidosis. This Gram-negative bacterium exists as a soil saprophyte in melioidosis-endemic …