Abstract
Perhaps the most fearsome attribute that pathogenic bacteria possess is their ability to change. More specifically, to undergo one of four main mutagenic mechanisms that, when occurring at a high enough frequency in a population of billions or more of cells, generates the rare variant that can become the next dominant clone. The acquisition of new virulence factors, the resistance to antibiotics, and the escape from vaccination, all derive from the powers of these mutagenic forces. In this chapter, the reader will be exposed to the underlying mechanisms of mutagenesis, the ways bacteria mix and match their genomes to generate pathogenic varieties, and other cellular processes that control virulence at genomic and post-genomic levels.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Suggested Reading
Didelot X, Walker AS, Peto TE, Crook DW, Wilson DJ (2016) Within-host evolution of bacterial pathogens. Nat Rev Microbiol 14:150–162. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro.2015.13
Hacker J, Kaper JB (2000) Pathogenicity islands and the evolution of microbes. Annu Rev Microbiol 54:641–679. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.micro.54.1.641
Juhas M (2015) Horizontal gene transfer in human pathogens. Crit Rev Microbiol 41:101–108. https://doi.org/10.3109/1040841X.2013.804031
Johnson TJ, Nolan LK (2009) Pathogenomics of the virulence plasmids of Escherichia coli. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 73:750–774. https://doi.org/10.1128/MMBR.00015-09
Lane MC, Mobley HL (2007) Role of P-fimbrial-mediated adherence in pyelonephritis and persistence of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) in the mammalian kidney. Kidney Int 72:19–25. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5002230
Stock AM, Robinson VL, Goudreau PN (2000) Two-component signal transduction. Annu Rev Biochem 69:183–215. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.biochem.69.1.183
van der Woude MW, Bäumler AJ (2004) Phase and antigenic variation in bacteria. Clin Microbiol Rev 17:581–611, table of contents. https://doi.org/10.1128/CMR.17.3.581-611.2004
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Maresso, A.W. (2019). The Mutagenic Tetrasect. In: Bacterial Virulence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20464-8_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20464-8_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-20463-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20464-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)