a strain of bacteria that causes skin and soft tissue infections in humans originally came from cattle, according to a study to be published in mbio®, the online open-access journal of the american society for microbiology. the researchers who conducted the
1 analysis of strains of staphylococcus aureus known as cc97 say these strains developed resistance to
methicillin（甲氧西林） after they crossed over into humans around forty years ago. today, methicillin-resistant s. aureus (mrsa) strain cc97 is an emerging human pathogen in europe, north and south america, africa, and asia. the findings highlight the potential for cows to serve as a reservoir for bacteria with the capacity for
pandemic（普遍的） spread in humans. the researchers sequenced the genomes of 43 different cc97
2 from humans, cattle, and other animals, and plotted their genetic relationships in a phylogenetic tree. corresponding author ross fitzgerald of the roslin institute and the university of edinburgh in scotland says strains of cc97 found in cows appear to be the ancestors of cc97 strains from humans.
"
3 strains seemed to occupy deeper parts of the phylogenetic tree -- they were closer to the root than the human strains. this led us to conclude that the strains infecting humans originated in cows and that they had evolved from
bovine（牛科动物） to human host jumps," says fitzgerald.
although the cc97 strains from animals were quite
4 diverse, the human isolates cluster together in two tight, distinct "clades," or relatedness groups, indicating that s. aureus cc97 in cattle crossed over into humans on two separate occasions. using
5 rates as a
6 clock, the authors
7 that the ancestor of clade a jumped from a bovine host to humans between 1894 and 1977 and clade b made the jump between 1938 and 1966.
after they made the jump, the human cc97 strains acquired some new
8, says fitzgerald, thanks to
9 encoded on portable pieces of
10 called mobile genetic elements.
"it seems like these elements, such as pathogenicity islands, phages, and plasmids, are important in order for the
11 to adapt to different host species," says fitzgerald. "the reverse is true as well: the bovine strains have their own mobile genetic elements."
perhaps the most problematic new
12 the human strains acquired is the ability to resist methicillin, an important
13 for fighting staphylococcal infections. only human strains of cc97 were able to resist the drug, which indicates that the bacteria acquired resistance after they crossed over into humans, presumably through exposure to
14 prescribed for treating human infections.
收听单词发音 
