Zinc resistance in livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) sequence type (ST) 398 is primarily mediated by the czrC gene co-located with the mecA gene, encoding methicillin resistance, within the type V SCCmec element. Because czrC and mecA are located within the same mobile genetic element, it has been suggested that the use of in feed zinc as an antidiarrheal agent has the potential to contribute to the emergence and spread of MRSA in swine through increased selection pressure to maintain the SCCmec element in isolates obtained from pigs. In this study we report the prevalence of the czrC gene…
Complete and accurate reference genomes and annotations provide fundamental tools for characterization of genetic and functional variation. These resources facilitate the determination of biological processes and support translation of research findings into improved and sustainable agricultural technologies. Many reference genomes for crop plants have been generated over the past decade, but these genomes are often fragmented and missing complex repeat regions. Here we report the assembly and annotation of a reference genome of maize, a genetic and agricultural model species, using single-molecule real-time sequencing and high-resolution optical mapping. Relative to the previous reference genome, our assembly features a 52-fold increase…
Two distinct subgroups of genotype A2 small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLVs) have been identified in the United States that infect sheep with specific host transmembrane protein 154 (TMEM154) diplotypes. Here, we report the first two complete genome sequences of SRLV strains infecting U.S. sheep belonging to genotype A2, subgroups 1 and 2. Copyright © 2017 Workman et al.
Staphylococcus aureus causes a variety of human diseases ranging in severity. The pathogenicity of S. aureus can be partially attributed to the acquisition of mobile genetic elements. In this report, we provide two complete genome sequences from human clinical S. aureus isolates. Copyright © 2017 Hau et al.
Edwardsiella hoshinae is a Gram-negative facultative anaerobe that has primarily been isolated from avians and reptiles. We report here the complete and annotated genome sequence of an isolate from a monitor lizard (Varanus sp.), which contains a chromosome of 3,811,650 bp and no plasmids. Copyright © 2017 Reichley et al.
Sequential expression of outer membrane protein antigenic variants is an evolutionarily convergent mechanism used by bacterial pathogens to escape host immune clearance and establish persistent infection. Variants must be sufficiently structurally distinct to escape existing immune effectors yet retain core structural elements required for localization and function within the outer membrane. We examined this balance using Anaplasma marginale, which generates antigenic variants in the outer membrane protein Msp2 using gene conversion. The overwhelming majority of Msp2 variants expressed during long-term persistent infection are mosaics, derived by recombination of oligonucleotide segments from multiple alleles to form unique hypervariable regions (HVR). As…
Next generation sequencing technologies have vastly changed the approach of sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for studies in microbial ecology. Three distinct technologies are available for large-scale 16S sequencing. All three are subject to biases introduced by sequencing error rates, amplification primer selection, and read length, which can affect the apparent microbial community. In this study, we compared short read 16S rRNA variable regions, V1-V3, with that of near-full length 16S regions, V1-V8, using highly diverse steer rumen microbial communities, in order to examine the impact of technology selection on phylogenetic profiles. Short paired-end reads from the Illumina MiSeq…
Various H-serotypes of the Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O104, including H4, H7, H21, and H¯, have been associated with sporadic cases of illness and have caused food-borne outbreaks globally. In the U.S., STEC O104:H21 caused an outbreak associated with milk in 1994. However, there is little known on the evolutionary origins of STEC O104 strains, and how genotypic diversity contributes to pathogenic potential of various O104 H-antigen serotypes isolated from different ecological niches and/or geographical regions.Two STEC O104:H21 (milk outbreak strain) and O104:H7 (cattle isolate) strains were shot-gun sequenced, and the genomes were closed. The intimin (eae) gene, involved…