Promiscuous bacteria have staying power.

Ruth C Massey,Daniel J Wilson

doi:10.7554/elife.30734

Abstract

Being able to take up DNA from their environment might allow pneumococcal bacteria to colonize the human nose and throat for longer periods of time.

Highlights

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a notorious bacterial pathogen hiding in plain sight
Research into S. pneumoniae is complicated because the species is a patchwork of distinctive strains and some of these strains remain in the nose and throat for longer than others
While the different serotypes were known to, on average, colonize people for different lengths of time (e.g. Abdullahi et al, 2012; Turner et al, 2012), it was not well understood how other factors such as the genetic background of the strain or its individual genes contributed to this variation in the duration of colonization

Summary

Introduction

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a notorious bacterial pathogen hiding in plain sight. A common resident of the nose and throat, between 68% and 84% of young infants will carry this species at any given time (Turner et al, 2012). In most cases it causes no harm, yet the presence of pneumococci – as the bacteria are known – can predispose a person to life-threatening infections like pneumonia or meningitis. While the different serotypes were known to, on average, colonize people for different lengths of time (e.g. Abdullahi et al, 2012; Turner et al, 2012), it was not well understood how other factors such as the genetic background of the strain or its individual genes contributed to this variation in the duration of colonization.

Results

Conclusion