Affiliation:
1. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110
Abstract
Over the past 120 to 160 million years, the genus
Salmonella
has evolved into a complex group of more than 2,300 genetically and phenotypically diverse serovars. Members of this genus are able to infect a wide diversity of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts; disease manifestations in humans range from gastroenteritis to typhoid fever. The evolution of the genus
Salmonella
and the divergence and radiation of particular lineages within this group have resulted from selection acting on new genetic variation generated by events such as the gain, loss, and/or rearrangement of genetic material. These types of genetic events have contributed to the speciation of
Salmonella
from its ancestral association with cold-blood animals to a pathogen of warm-blooded hosts. Moreover, adaptive radiation due to changes in gene content within
S. enterica
subspecies I has impacted host specificity and aided in the selection of host-restricted, host-adapted, and non-host-adapted serovars. In addition to the genetic diversity important for the wide phenotypic heterogeneity within the genus, a subset of core
Salmonella
-specific genes present in all
Salmonella
species and serovars has been identified that may contribute to the conserved aspects of the lifestyle of this microorganism, including the ability to survive in nutrient-poor nonhost environments such as soil and water. Whole-genome comparisons of isolates differing in host range and virulence will continue to elucidate the genetic mechanisms that have contributed to the evolution and diverse ecology of the genus
Salmonella
.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Cited by
9 articles.
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