Publications

Genetic and phenotypic diversity in Burkholderia: contributions by prophage and phage-like elements

Ronning CM, Losada L, Brinkac L, Inman J, Ulrich RL, Schell M, Nierman WC, DeShazer D

PMID: 20667135

Abstract

Burkholderia species exhibit enormous phenotypic diversity, ranging from the nonpathogenic, soil- and water-inhabiting Burkholderia thailandensis to the virulent, host-adapted mammalian pathogen B. mallei. Genomic diversity is evident within Burkholderia species as well. Individual isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei and B. thailandensis, for example, carry a variety of strain-specific genomic islands (GIs), including putative pathogenicity and metabolic islands, prophage-like islands, and prophages. These GIs may provide some strains with a competitive advantage in the environment and/or in the host relative to other strains.