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July 7, 2019  |  

IncI1 plasmids encoding various blaCTX-Ms contributed to ceftriaxone resistance in Salmonella Enteritidis in China.

Resistance to extended spectrum ß-lactams in Salmonella, in particular serotypes such as S. Enteritidis that are frequently associated with clinical infections, is a serious public health concern. In this study, phenotypic characterization of 433 clinical S. Enteritidis strains obtained from a nationwide collection of China CDC during the period of 2005~2010 depicted an increasing trend of resistance to ceftriaxone from 2008 onwards. Seventeen (4%) of the strains were found to be resistant to ceftriaxone, 7% to ciprofloxacin and 0.7% to both ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone. Most of the ceftriaxone-resistant S. Enteritidis strains (15/17) were genetically unrelated, and originated from Henan province. The complete sequence of an IncI1 plasmid pSE115 which belonged to a novel Sequence Type was obtained. This 87,255bp IncI1 plasmid was found to harbour a blaCTX-M-14 gene located in a novel Multidrug Resistance Region (MRR) within the tra locus. Although the majority of strains were also found to contain conjugative IncI1 plasmids of similar size to pSE115(~90kb) and harbor a variety of blaCTX-MGroup 1 and Group 9 elements, the novel MRR site at the tra locus in pSE115 was not detectable in the other IncI1 plasmids. Findings in this study show that cephalosporin resistance in S. Enteritidis strains collected in China was mainly due to dissemination of blaCTX-M-encoding IncI1 plasmids, resembling the situation in which IncI1 plasmids serve as major vectors of blaCTX-M variants in other members of Enterobacteriaceae. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.


July 7, 2019  |  

Draft whole-genome sequences of nine non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important food-borne pathogen. Here, we report the draft whole-genome sequences of nine STEC strains isolated from clinical cases in the United States. This is the first report of such information for STEC of serotypes O69, H11, O145:H25, O118:H16, O91:H21, O146:H21, O45:H2, O128:H2, and O121:H19. Copyright © 2014 Lindsey et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus environmental strain UCM-V493.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is the leading bacterial cause of seafood-related gastroenteritis in the world. Here, we report the complete genome sequence and annotation of an environmental strain of V. parahaemolyticus, UCM-V493, with the aim of understanding the differences between the clinical and environmental isolates of the bacteria. We also make some preliminary sequence comparisons with the clinical strain RIMD2210633.


July 7, 2019  |  

Genome sequences of 228 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates and 12 isolates representing other diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes.

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a common cause for food-borne diarrheal illness outbreaks and sporadic cases. Here, we report the availability of the draft genome sequences of 228 STEC strains representing 32 serotypes with known pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types and epidemiological relationships, as well as 12 strains representing other diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes. Copyright © 2014 Trees et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

Complete genome sequences of Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg strains associated with a multistate food-borne illness investigation.

Next-generation sequencing is being evaluated for use with food-borne illness investigations, especially when the outbreak strains produce patterns that cannot be discriminated from non-outbreak strains using conventional procedures. Here we report complete genome assemblies of two Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg strains with a common pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern isolated during an outbreak investigation.


July 7, 2019  |  

Safety of the surrogate microorganism Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 for use in thermal process validation.

Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 is a surrogate microorganism used in place of pathogens for validation of thermal processing technologies and systems. We evaluated the safety of strain NRRL B-2354 based on its genomic and functional characteristics. The genome of E. faecium NRRL B-2354 was sequenced and found to comprise a 2,635,572-bp chromosome and a 214,319-bp megaplasmid. A total of 2,639 coding sequences were identified, including 45 genes unique to this strain. Hierarchical clustering of the NRRL B-2354 genome with 126 other E. faecium genomes as well as pbp5 locus comparisons and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that the genotype of this strain is most similar to commensal, or community-associated, strains of this species. E. faecium NRRL B-2354 lacks antibiotic resistance genes, and both NRRL B-2354 and its clonal relative ATCC 8459 are sensitive to clinically relevant antibiotics. This organism also lacks, or contains nonfunctional copies of, enterococcal virulence genes including acm, cyl, the ebp operon, esp, gelE, hyl, IS16, and associated phenotypes. It does contain scm, sagA, efaA, and pilA, although either these genes were not expressed or their roles in enterococcal virulence are not well understood. Compared with the clinical strains TX0082 and 1,231,502, E. faecium NRRL B-2354 was more resistant to acidic conditions (pH 2.4) and high temperatures (60°C) and was able to grow in 8% ethanol. These findings support the continued use of E. faecium NRRL B-2354 in thermal process validation of food products.


July 7, 2019  |  

A gapless, unambiguous genome sequence of the Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain EDL933.

Escherichia coli EDL933 is the prototypic strain for enterohemorrhagic E. coli serotype O157:H7, associated with deadly food-borne outbreaks. Because the publicly available sequence of the EDL933 genome has gaps and >6,000 ambiguous base calls, we here present an updated high-quality, unambiguous genome sequence with no assembly gaps. Copyright © 2014 Latif et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

First complete genome sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium strain ATCC 13311 (NCTC 74), a reference strain of multidrug resistance, as achieved by use of PacBio Single-Molecule Real-Time technology.

We report the first complete genomic sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium strain ATCC 13311, the leading food-borne pathogen and a reference strain used in drug resistance studies. De novo assembly with PacBio sequencing completed its chromosome and one plasmid. They will accelerate the investigation into multidrug resistance in Salmonella Typhimurium. Copyright © 2014 Terabayashi et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

Enterobacter asburiae strain L1: complete genome and whole genome optical mapping analysis of a quorum sensing bacterium.

Enterobacter asburiae L1 is a quorum sensing bacterium isolated from lettuce leaves. In this study, for the first time, the complete genome of E. asburiae L1 was sequenced using the single molecule real time sequencer (PacBio RSII) and the whole genome sequence was verified by using optical genome mapping (OpGen) technology. In our previous study, E. asburiae L1 has been reported to produce AHLs, suggesting the possibility of virulence factor regulation which is quorum sensing dependent. This evoked our interest to study the genome of this bacterium and here we present the complete genome of E. asburiae L1, which carries the virulence factor gene virK, the N-acyl homoserine lactone-based QS transcriptional regulator gene luxR and the N-acyl homoserine lactone synthase gene which we firstly named easI. The availability of the whole genome sequence of E. asburiae L1 will pave the way for the study of the QS-mediated gene expression in this bacterium. Hence, the importance and functions of these signaling molecules can be further studied in the hope of elucidating the mechanisms of QS-regulation in E. asburiae. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documentation of both a complete genome sequence and the establishment of the molecular basis of QS properties of E. asburiae.


July 7, 2019  |  

Integrative analysis of Salmonellosis in Israel reveals association of Salmonella enterica serovar 9,12:l,v:- with extraintestinal infections, dissemination of endemic S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 biotypes, and severe underreporting of outbreaks.

Salmonella enterica is the leading etiologic agent of bacterial food-borne outbreaks worldwide. This ubiquitous species contains more than 2,600 serovars that may differ in their host specificity, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. To characterize salmonellosis epidemiology in Israel and to study the association of nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) serovars with invasive infections, 48,345 Salmonella cases reported and serotyped at the National Salmonella Reference Center between 1995 and 2012 were analyzed. A quasi-Poisson regression was used to identify irregular clusters of illness, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in conjunction with whole-genome sequencing was applied to molecularly characterize strains of interest. Three hundred twenty-nine human salmonellosis clusters were identified, representing an annual average of 23 (95% confidence interval [CI], 20 to 26) potential outbreaks. We show that the previously unsequenced S. enterica serovar 9,12:l,v:- belongs to the B clade of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica, and we show its frequent association with extraintestinal infections, compared to other NTS serovars. Furthermore, we identified the dissemination of two prevalent Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 clones in Israel, which are genetically distinct from other global DT104 isolates. Accumulatively, these findings indicate a severe underreporting of Salmonella outbreaks in Israel and provide insights into the epidemiology and genomics of prevalent serovars, responsible for recurring illness. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.


July 7, 2019  |  

First fully closed genome sequence of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Cubana associated with a food-borne outbreak.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Cubana (Salmonella serovar Cubana) is associated with human and animal disease. Here, we used third-generation, single-molecule, real-time DNA sequencing to determine the first complete genome sequence of Salmonella serovar Cubana CFSAN002050, which was isolated from fresh alfalfa sprouts during a multistate outbreak in 2012. Copyright © 2014 Hoffmann et al.


July 7, 2019  |  

An evaluation of alternative methods for constructing phylogenies from whole genome sequence data: a case study with Salmonella.

Comparative genomics based on whole genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly being applied to investigate questions within evolutionary and molecular biology, as well as questions concerning public health (e.g., pathogen outbreaks). Given the impact that conclusions derived from such analyses may have, we have evaluated the robustness of clustering individuals based on WGS data to three key factors: (1) next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform (HiSeq, MiSeq, IonTorrent, 454, and SOLiD), (2) algorithms used to construct a SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) matrix (reference-based and reference-free), and (3) phylogenetic inference method (FastTreeMP, GARLI, and RAxML). We carried out these analyses on 194 whole genome sequences representing 107 unique Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica ser. Montevideo strains. Reference-based approaches for identifying SNPs produced trees that were significantly more similar to one another than those produced under the reference-free approach. Topologies inferred using a core matrix (i.e., no missing data) were significantly more discordant than those inferred using a non-core matrix that allows for some missing data. However, allowing for too much missing data likely results in a high false discovery rate of SNPs. When analyzing the same SNP matrix, we observed that the more thorough inference methods implemented in GARLI and RAxML produced more similar topologies than FastTreeMP. Our results also confirm that reproducibility varies among NGS platforms where the MiSeq had the lowest number of pairwise differences among replicate runs. Our investigation into the robustness of clustering patterns illustrates the importance of carefully considering how data from different platforms are combined and analyzed. We found clear differences in the topologies inferred, and certain methods performed significantly better than others for discriminating between the highly clonal organisms investigated here. The methods supported by our results represent a preliminary set of guidelines and a step towards developing validated standards for clustering based on whole genome sequence data.


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