Rapid Evolution of Virulence and Drug Resistance in the Emerging Zoonotic Pathogen Streptococcus suis

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006072
• Publication Date: 2009-07-14T22:03:54Z
• Authors: Matthew T. G. Holden; Heidi Hauser; Mandy Sanders; Thi Hoa Ngo; Inna Cherevach; Ann Cronin; Ian Goodhead; Karen Mungall; Michael A. Quail; Claire Price; Ester Rabbinowitsch; Sarah Sharp; Nicholas J. Croucher; Tran Bich Chieu; Nguyen Thi Hoang Mai; To Song Diep; Nguyen Tran Chinh; Michael Kehoe; James A. Leigh; Philip N. Ward; Christopher G. Do...; Adrian M. Whatmore; Neil Chanter; Pernille Iversen; Marcelo Gottschalk; Josh D. Slater; Hilde E. Smith; Brian G. Spratt; Jianguo Xu; Changyun Ye; Stephen Bentley; Barclay G. Barrell; Constance Schultsz; Duncan J. Maskell; Julian Parkhill
• Keywords: Streptococcus suis; Pseudogene; Comparative Genomics; Horizontal Gene Transfer

Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic pathogen that infects pigs and can occasionally cause serious infections in humans. S. occur sporadically human Europe North America, but recent major outbreak has been described China with high levels of mortality. The mechanisms pathogenesis humans are poorly understood.