At the University of Maryland’s Genomics Resource Center, SMRT Sequencing has become an integral tool for generating complete microbial genomes, improving plant and animal genome assemblies, and exploring human genome variation.
Studying microbial genomics and infectious disease? Learn how the PacBio Sequel II System can help advance your research, with first-hand perspectives from scientists who are investigating SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19. In this webinar, Melissa Laird-Smith (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine) discusses her work evaluating the impact of host immune restriction in health and disease with high resolution HLA typing. She is joined by Corey Watson (University of Louisville School of Medicine) who talks about overcoming complexity to elucidate the role of IGH haplotype diversity in antibody-mediated immunity. Hosted by Meredith Ashby, Director of Microbial Genomics at PacBio. Access additional PacBio resources…
The evolution and global transmission of antimicrobial resistance has been well documented in Gram-negative bacteria and healthcare-associated epidemic pathogens, often emerging from regions with heavy antimicrobial use. However, the degree to which similar processes occur with Gram-positive bacteria in the community setting is less well understood. Here, we trace the recent origins and global spread of a multidrug resistant, community-associated Staphylococcus aureus lineage from the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal Bay clone (ST772). We generated whole genome sequence data of 340 isolates from 14 countries, including the first isolates from Bangladesh and India, to reconstruct the evolutionary history and genomic epidemiology…
The pathogenic extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli lineage ST648 is increasingly reported from multiple origins. Our study of a large and global ST648 collection from various hosts (87 whole-genome sequences) combining core and accessory genomics with functional analyses and in vivo experiments suggests that ST648 is a nascent and generalist lineage, lacking clear phylogeographic and host association signals. By including large numbers of ST131 (n?=?107) and ST10 (n?=?96) strains for comparative genomics and phenotypic analysis, we demonstrate that the combination of multidrug resistance and high-level virulence are the hallmarks of ST648, similar to international high-risk clonal lineage ST131. Specifically, our in…
Staphylococcus aureus is a significant human pathogen whose evolution and adaptation have been shaped in part by mobile genetic elements (MGEs), facilitating the global spread of extensive antimicrobial resistance. However, our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics surrounding MGEs, in particular, how changes in the structure of multidrug resistance (MDR) plasmids may influence important staphylococcal phenotypes, is incomplete. Here, we undertook a population and functional genomics study of 212 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) sequence type 239 (ST239) isolates collected over 32?years to explore the evolution of the pSK1 family of MDR plasmids, illustrating how these plasmids have coevolved with and contributed…
Phenotypic change is a hallmark of bacterial adaptation during chronic infection. In the case of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis, well-characterized phenotypic variants include mucoid and small colony variants (SCVs). It has previously been shown that SCVs can be reproducibly isolated from the murine lung following the establishment of chronic infection with mucoid P. aeruginosa strain NH57388A. Using a combination of single-molecule real-time (PacBio) and Illumina sequencing we identify a large genomic inversion in the SCV through recombination between homologous regions of two rRNA operons and an associated truncation of one of the 16S rRNA…
Resistance to carbapenem and aminoglycoside antibiotics is a critical problem in Acinetobacter baumannii, particularly when genes conferring resistance are acquired by multiply or extensively resistant members of successful globally distributed clonal complexes, such as global clone 1 (GC1) . Here, we investigate the evolution of an expanding clade of lineage 1 of the GC1 complex via repeated acquisition of carbapenem- and aminoglycoside-resistance genes. Lineage 1 arose in the late 1970s and the Tn6168/OCL3 clade arose in the late 1990s from an ancestor that had already acquired resistance to third-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones. Between 2000 and 2002, two distinct subclades have…
The UK’s native oak is under serious threat from Acute Oak Decline (AOD). Stem tissue necrosis is a primary symptom of AOD and several bacteria are associated with necrotic lesions. Two members of the lesion pathobiome, Brenneria goodwinii and Gibbsiella quercinecans, have been identified as causative agents of tissue necrosis. However, additional bacteria including Lonsdalea britannica and Rahnella species have been detected in the lesion microbiome, but their role in tissue degradation is unclear. Consequently, information on potential genome-encoded mechanisms for tissue necrosis is critical to understand the role and mechanisms used by bacterial members of the lesion pathobiome in…
We report the complete genome sequence for Streptococcus pyogenes strain 1838 (type emm3) isolated from a patient with toxic shock syndrome. The strain lacked the speK- and sla-encoding prophage frequently encountered among emm3 strains and possessed an Arg66His mutation in CovR of the 2-component virulence regulatory system CovRS.
Culture-independent methods that target genome fragments have shown promise in identifying certain pathogens, but the holy grail of comprehensive pathogen genome detection from microbiologically complex samples for subsequent forensic analyses remains a challenge. In the context of an investigation of a nosocomial outbreak, we used shotgun metagenomic sequencing of a human fecal sample and a neural network algorithm based on tetranucleotide frequency profiling to reconstruct microbial genomes and tested the same approach using rectal swabs from a second patient. The approach rapidly and readily detected the genome of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae in the patient fecal specimen and…
The human gut microbiome matures towards the adult composition during the first years of life and is implicated in early immune development. Here, we investigate the effects of microbial genomic diversity on gut microbiome development using integrated early childhood data sets collected in the DIABIMMUNE study in Finland, Estonia and Russian Karelia. We show that gut microbial diversity is associated with household location and linear growth of children. Single nucleotide polymorphism- and metagenomic assembly-based strain tracking revealed large and highly dynamic microbial pangenomes, especially in the genus Bacteroides, in which we identified evidence of variability deriving from Bacteroides-targeting bacteriophages. Our…
AbstractPectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense (Pcb) is a gram-negative, plant pathogenic bacterium of the soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (SRE) family. We present the complete genome sequence of Pcb strain BZA12, which reveals that Pcb strain BZA12 carries a single 4,924,809 bp chromosome with 51.97% GC content and comprises 4508 predicted protein-coding genes.Geneannotationofthese genes utilizedGO, KEGG,and COG databases.Incomparison withthree closely related soft-rot pathogens, strain BZA12 has 3797 gene families, among which 3107 gene families are identified as orthologous with those of both P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum PCC21 and P. carotovorum subsp. odoriferum BCS7, as well as 36 putative Unique Gene Families. We selected…
Oral azithromycin given during labour reduces carriage of bacteria responsible for neonatal sepsis, including Staphylococcus aureus. However, there is concern that this may promote drug resistance.Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data on S. aureus isolated from mothers and babies in a randomized intra-partum azithromycin trial (PregnAnZI) to describe bacterial population dynamics and resistance mechanisms.Participants from both arms of the trial, who carried S. aureus in day 3 and day 28 samples post-intervention, were included. Sixty-six S. aureus isolates (from 7 mothers and 10 babies) underwent comparative genome analyses and the data were then combined with epidemiological data. Trial registration…
Pasteurella multocida causes respiratory infectious diseases in a multitude of birds and mammals. A number of virulence-associated genes were reported across different strains of P. multocida, including those involved in the iron transport and metabolism. Comparative iron-associated genes of P. multocida among different animal hosts towards their interaction networks have not been fully revealed. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the iron-associated genes from core- and pan-genomes of fourteen P. multocida strains and to construct iron-associated protein interaction networks using genome-scale network analysis which might be associated with the virulence. Results showed that these fourteen strains had 1587 genes in…
Three mesophilic, Gram-stain-positive, aerobic bacterial strains, designated Uno3T, Uno11T and Uno16T, were isolated from a soil-like granular micro-organism mass (termed Tengu-no-mugimeshi) collected from Tsumagoi, Gunma, Japan. They grow at 11-37?°C?and pH 4.0-8.0, form branched mycelia, and have a G+C?content between 49.4-50.3?mol%. The major menaquinone and fatty acid of Uno3T are MK-9 and iso-C16?:?0, respectively, whereas Uno11T and Uno16T share MK-9 (H2) and C16?:?1-2OH. The major cell-wall sugars are mannose (Uno3T and Uno11T) and glucose (Uno16T). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that these three strains belong to the order Ktedonobacterales and are most closely related to Dictyobacter…