Properties
Pathogenicity islands (PAIs) carry genes encoding one or more virulence factors, including, but not limited to, adhesins, toxins, or invasins. They may be located on a bacterial chromosome or may be transferred within a plasmid. The GC-content of pathogenicity islands often differs from that of the rest of the genome, potentially aiding in their detection within a given DNA sequence.
PAIs are flanked by direct repeats; the sequence of bases at two ends of the inserted sequence are the same. They carry functional genes, such as integrases, transposases, or part of insertion sequences, to enable insertion into host DNA. PAIs are often associated with tRNA genes, which target sites for this integration event. They can be transferred as a single unit to new bacterial cells, thus conferring virulence to formerly benign strains.
Read more about this topic: Pathogenicity Island
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