This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Brian Vastag

JAMA. 2001;286:781.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Staphylococcus aureus, which is responsible for toxic shock syndrome and many antibiotic-resistant infections, adapts to its environment by swapping genes with its cousins, say scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. After analyzing gene data from 36 strains of the organism, the team led by James Musser, MD, PhD, found that nearly 25% of the S aureus genome held nothing but dispensable genes, not required for basic cell processes.

These so-called contingency genes provide the bacterium with an arsenal of new genetic combinations to "try out" whenever confronted with a new environment—such as antibiotic-rich blood. "The debate among microbiologists has been, did isolated strains pick up new genes once and then spread them through the population, or did the bacteria acquire the [contingency] genes on multiple occasions?" asked Musser. His research has demonstrated that the bacteria picked up new genes many times, supporting the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?