Large scale variation in Enterococcus faecalis illustrated by the genome analysis of strain OG1RF
2008

Genome Analysis of Enterococcus faecalis Strain OG1RF

Sample size: 21 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Agathe Bourgogne, Danielle A. Garsin, Xiang Qin, Kavindra V. Singh, Jouko Sillanpaa, Shailaja Yerrapragada, Yan Ding, Shannon Dugan-Rocha, Christian Buhay, Hua Shen, Guan Chen, Gabrielle Williams, Donna Muzny, Arash Maadani, Kristina A. Fox, Jason Gioia, Lei Chen, Yue Shang, Cesar A. Arias, Sreedhar R. Nallapareddy, Meng Zhao, Vittal P. Prakash, Shahreen Chowdhury, Huaiyang Jiang, Richard A. Gibbs, Barbara E. Murray, Sarah K. Highlander, George M. Weinstock

Primary Institution: University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA

Hypothesis

Mediators of virulence differ between strains of Enterococcus faecalis and virulence does not depend on mobile gene elements.

Conclusion

E. faecalis OG1RF carries unique loci compared to V583, and its virulence is not reliant on mobile genetic elements.

Supporting Evidence

  • OG1RF was found to carry approximately 232 kilobases unique to this strain compared to V583.
  • OG1RF was more rapidly but less frequently lethal than V583 in the mouse peritonitis model.
  • OG1RF significantly outcompeted V583 in a murine model of urinary tract infections.

Takeaway

Scientists studied two strains of a bacteria called Enterococcus faecalis to see how they differ. They found that one strain has special parts that help it cause infections, but it doesn't need certain mobile pieces of DNA to be harmful.

Methodology

The genome of E. faecalis strain OG1RF was sequenced and compared to strain V583, analyzing unique regions and their effects in various animal models.

Potential Biases

Potential bias in strain selection and experimental conditions may affect the generalizability of the findings.

Limitations

The study primarily focused on two strains and may not represent the diversity of all E. faecalis strains.

Participant Demographics

Mice were used in the experimental models for virulence testing.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.0034

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/gb-2008-9-7-r110

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