Featured Publications
Within-host microevolution of Streptococcus pneumoniae is rapid and adaptive during natural colonisation
Chaguza C, Senghore M, Bojang E, Gladstone RA, Lo SW, Tientcheu PE, Bancroft RE, Worwui A, Foster-Nyarko E, Ceesay F, Okoi C, McGee L, Klugman KP, Breiman RF, Barer MR, Adegbola RA, Antonio M, Bentley SD, Kwambana-Adams BA. Within-host microevolution of Streptococcus pneumoniae is rapid and adaptive during natural colonisation. Nature Communications 2020, 11: 3442. PMID: 32651390, PMCID: PMC7351774, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17327-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNatural colonisationHost microevolutionNucleotide substitution ratesWhole-genome sequencingGenomic evolutionNeutral evolutionGenetic diversityHomologous recombinationParallel evolutionGenomic changesAdhesion genesSubstitution ratesHuman-adapted pathogenMicroevolutionStrain variantsColonisationImmune evasionStreptococcus pneumoniaeAntibiotic resistanceGenesEvolutionSequencingDiversityNasopharyngeal carriageBacteria
2021
Pneumococcal Colonization and Virulence Factors Identified Via Experimental Evolution in Infection Models
Green AE, Howarth D, Chaguza C, Echlin H, Langendonk RF, Munro C, Barton TE, Hinton J, Bentley SD, Rosch JW, Neill DR. Pneumococcal Colonization and Virulence Factors Identified Via Experimental Evolution in Infection Models. Molecular Biology And Evolution 2021, 38: 2209-2226. PMID: 33502519, PMCID: PMC8136498, DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab018.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2020
Lower Density and Shorter Duration of Nasopharyngeal Carriage by Pneumococcal Serotype 1 (ST217) May Explain Its Increased Invasiveness over Other Serotypes
Bricio-Moreno L, Chaguza C, Yahya R, Shears RK, Cornick JE, Hokamp K, Yang M, Neill DR, French N, Hinton JCD, Everett DB, Kadioglu A. Lower Density and Shorter Duration of Nasopharyngeal Carriage by Pneumococcal Serotype 1 (ST217) May Explain Its Increased Invasiveness over Other Serotypes. MBio 2020, 11: e00814-20. PMID: 33293378, PMCID: PMC7733939, DOI: 10.1128/mbio.00814-20.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInvasive pneumococcal diseaseNasopharyngeal carriageSerotype 1Invasive diseaseDisease progressionPneumococcal strainsInvasive pneumococcal disease casesQueen Elizabeth Central HospitalMajor causePneumococcal disease casesPneumococcal serotype 1Health care systemPneumococcal diseaseCentral HospitalVaccine efficacyInvasive infectionsInvasive pneumoniaCommon causeMurine modelMouse modelDisease casesCarrier stateHuman nasopharynxPneumoniaRNA sequencing analysis