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July 7, 2019

High incidence of invasive group A Streptococcus disease caused by strains of uncommon emm types in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

An outbreak of type emm59 invasive group A Streptococcus (iGAS) disease was declared in 2008 in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, two years after a country-wide emm59 epidemic was recognized in Canada. Despite a declining number of emm59 infections since 2010, numerous cases of iGAS disease continue to be reported in the area. We collected clinical information on all iGAS cases recorded in Thunder Bay District from 2008-2013. We also emm typed and sequenced the genomes of all available strains isolated in 2011-2013 from iGAS infections, and from severe cases of soft tissue infections. We used whole-genome data to investigate the population structure of GAS strains of the most frequently isolated emm types. We report increased incidence of iGAS in Thunder Bay compared to the metropolitan area of Toronto/Peel and the province of Ontario. Illicit drug use, alcohol abuse, homelessness and hepatitis C infection were underlying diseases or conditions that might have predisposed patients to iGAS disease. Most cases were caused by clonal strains of “skin” or “generalist” emm types (i.e. emm82, emm87, emm101, emm4, emm83, and emm114), uncommonly seen in other areas of the province. We observed rapid waxing and waning of emm types causing disease and their replacement by other emm types associated with the same tissue tropisms. Thus, iGAS disease in Thunder Bay District predominantly affects a select population of disadvantaged persons and is caused by clonally related strains of a few “skin” and “generalist” emm types less commonly associated with iGAS in other areas of Ontario. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.


July 7, 2019

First Azospirillum genome from aquatic environments: Whole-genome sequence of Azospirillum thiophilum BV-S(T), a novel diazotroph harboring a capacity of sulfur-chemolithotrophy from a sulfide spring.

Azospirillum thiophilum BV-S(T), isolated from a sulfide spring, is a novel nitrogen-fixing bacterium harboring sulfur-lithotrophy. In order to identify genetic characteristics with habitat- and metabolic features contrasting to those from terrestrial Azospirillum species, we present here the genome sequence of a novel species A. thiophilum BV-S(T), with a significance of first genome report in the aquatic Azospirillum species. The genome of strain BV-S(T) is comprised of 7.6Mb chromosome with a GC content of 68.2%. This information will contribute to expand understandings of sulfur-oxidizer microbes that preserve inherencies as a diazotroph, and further it will provide insights into genome plasticity of the genus Azospirillum for niche specific adaptations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Identification and resolution of microdiversity through metagenomic sequencing of parallel consortia.

To gain a predictive understanding of the interspecies interactions within microbial communities that govern community function, the genomic complement of every member population must be determined. Although metagenomic sequencing has enabled the de novo reconstruction of some microbial genomes from environmental communities, microdiversity confounds current genome reconstruction techniques. To overcome this issue, we performed short-read metagenomic sequencing on parallel consortia, defined as consortia cultivated under the same conditions from the same natural community with overlapping species composition. The differences in species abundance between the two consortia allowed reconstruction of near-complete (at an estimated >85% of gene complement) genome sequences for 17 of the 20 detected member species. Two Halomonas spp. indistinguishable by amplicon analysis were found to be present within the community. In addition, comparison of metagenomic reads against the consensus scaffolds revealed within-species variation for one of the Halomonas populations, one of the Rhodobacteraceae populations, and the Rhizobiales population. Genomic comparison of these representative instances of inter- and intraspecies microdiversity suggests differences in functional potential that may result in the expression of distinct roles in the community. In addition, isolation and complete genome sequence determination of six member species allowed an investigation into the sensitivity and specificity of genome reconstruction processes, demonstrating robustness across a wide range of sequence coverage (9× to 2,700×) within the metagenomic data set. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.


July 7, 2019

Genome mining of astaxanthin biosynthetic genes from Sphingomonas sp. ATCC 55669 for heterologous overproduction in Escherichia coli.

As a highly valued keto-carotenoid, astaxanthin is widely used in nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals. Therefore, the demand for biosynthetic astaxanthin and improved efficiency of astaxanthin biosynthesis has driven the investigation of metabolic engineering of native astaxanthin producers and heterologous hosts. However, microbial resources for astaxanthin are limited. In this study, we found that the a-Proteobacterium Sphingomonas sp. ATCC 55669 could produce astaxanthin naturally. We used whole-genome sequencing to identify the astaxanthin biosynthetic pathway using a combined PacBio-Illumina approach. The putative astaxanthin biosynthetic pathway in Sphingomonas sp. ATCC 55669 was predicted. For further confirmation, a high-efficiency targeted engineering carotenoid synthesis platform was constructed in E. coli for identifying the functional roles of candidate genes. All genes involved in astaxanthin biosynthesis showed discrete distributions on the chromosome. Moreover, the overexpression of exogenous E. coli idi in Sphingomonas sp. ATCC 55669 increased astaxanthin production by 5.4-fold. This study described a new astaxanthin producer and provided more biosynthesis components for bioengineering of astaxanthin in the future. © 2015 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.


July 7, 2019

Integrating mass spectrometry and genomics for cyanobacterial metabolite discovery.

Filamentous marine cyanobacteria produce bioactive natural products with both potential therapeutic value and capacity to be harmful to human health. Genome sequencing has revealed that cyanobacteria have the capacity to produce many more secondary metabolites than have been characterized. The biosynthetic pathways that encode cyanobacterial natural products are mostly uncharacterized, and lack of cyanobacterial genetic tools has largely prevented their heterologous expression. Hence, a combination of cutting edge and traditional techniques has been required to elucidate their secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Here, we review the discovery and refined biochemical understanding of the olefin synthase and fatty acid ACP reductase/aldehyde deformylating oxygenase pathways to hydrocarbons, and the curacin A, jamaicamide A, lyngbyabellin, columbamide, and a trans-acyltransferase macrolactone pathway encoding phormidolide. We integrate into this discussion the use of genomics, mass spectrometric networking, biochemical characterization, and isolation and structure elucidation techniques.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of deoxynivalenol-degrading bacterium Devosia sp. strain A16.

The strain A16, capable of degrading deoxynivalenol was isolated from a wheat field and identified preliminarily as Devosia sp. Here, we present the genome sequence of the Devosia sp. A16, which has a size of 5,032,994bp, with 4913 coding sequences (CDSs). The annotated full genome sequence of the Devosia sp. A16 strain might shed light on the function of its degradation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of Hymenobacter sp. DG25B, a novel bacterium with gamma-radiation resistance isolated from soil in South Korea.

A Gram-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, gamma and UV radiation resistant bacterium Hymenobacter radioresistens DG25B was isolated from a soil sample collected in South Korea. The complete genome sequence of H. radioresistens DG25B consists of one circular chromosome (3,874,646bp). The bacterium was isolated from gamma ray irradiated soil and contains the genomic features of enzymes involved in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway that protect the damaged DNA. The genome also contains other genes involved in the efficient removal of double-strand breaks (DSB) caused by the ionizing radiations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of the Variibacter gotjawalensis GJW-30(T) from soil of lava forest, Gotjawal.

Variibacter gotjawalensis GJW-30(T) is a gram-negative, strictly aerobic bacterium to form pleomorphic. Here we present the 4.5-Mb genome sequence of the type strain of V. gotjawalensis GJW-30(T), which consists a chromosome for the total 4,586,237bp with a G+C content of 62.2mol%. This is the first report of the full genome sequence of a species of the novel genus Variibacter isolated from Gotjawal, a unique area in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome of Pseudoalteromonas phenolica KCTC 12086(T) (= O-BC30(T)), a marine bacterium producing polybrominated aromatic compounds.

Pseudoalteromonas phenolica is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, flagellated, aerobic, antibiotic-producing bacterium that was isolated from seawater off Ogasawara Island, Japan. Here, we report the complete genome of P. phenolica KCTC 12086(T) (= O-BC30(T)), which consists of 4,868,993 bp (G+C content of 40.6%) with two chromosomes, 4168 protein-coding genes, 113 tRNAs and 9 rRNA operons. In addition, several genes related to phenolic anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus substances were detected in the genome suggesting that biosynthesis of industrially important polybrominated aromatic compounds could be better understood with the availability of genome data of P. phenolica. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

hybridSPAdes: an algorithm for hybrid assembly of short and long reads.

Recent advances in single molecule real-time (SMRT) and nanopore sequencing technologies have enabled high-quality assemblies from long and inaccurate reads. However, these approaches require high coverage by long reads and remain expensive. On the other hand, the inexpensive short reads technologies produce accurate but fragmented assemblies. Thus, a hybrid approach that assembles long reads (with low coverage) and short reads has a potential to generate high-quality assemblies at reduced cost.We describe hybridSPAdes algorithm for assembling short and long reads and benchmark it on a variety of bacterial assembly projects. Our results demonstrate that hybridSPAdes generates accurate assemblies (even in projects with relatively low coverage by long reads) thus reducing the overall cost of genome sequencing. We further present the first complete assembly of a genome from single cells using SMRT reads.hybridSPAdes is implemented in C++?as a part of SPAdes genome assembler and is publicly available at http://bioinf.spbau.ru/en/spades CONTACT: d.antipov@spbu.ruSupplementary information: supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of an aromatic compound degrader Arthrobacter sp. YC-RL1.

Arthrobacter sp. YC-RL1, isolated from a petroleum-contaminated soil, is capable of degrading and utilizing a wide range of aromatic compounds for growth. Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain YC-RL1, which may facilitate the investigation of environmental bioremediation and provide new gene resources for biotechnology and gene engineering. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


July 7, 2019

Complete genome sequence of Celeribacter marinus IMCC12053(T), the host strain of marine bacteriophage P12053L.

Isolated from coastal seawater from Yellow Sea of Korea, Celeribacter marinus IMCC12053 was used as the host bacterium for bacteriophage P12053L. Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain IMCC12053 for further study of the marine bacteriophage P12053L functional genes. Single molecule real-time technology (PacBio RSII) was used for the single circular chromosome that is 3,096,705 base pairs in length and the GC content is 56.24%. It contains 3155 ORFs with 45 tRNAs and 6 rRNAs genes. N(6)-methyladenosine patterns were also investigated for 32 unmethylated genes and intergenic regions that covered many regulators and phage genes as well as ribosomal RNA genes and tRNA genes. Cryptic N(4)-methylcytosine pattern was investigated to speculate GpC methylase activity throughout the genome. Comparative genomics with other Celeribacter genomes were carried out for polyaromatic hydrocarbon degradation, but there were no aromatic ring oxygenases in IMCC12053 when compared to Celeribacter indicus P73. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


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