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Lerminiaux N, Fakharuddin K, Mulvey MR, Mataseje L. Do we still need Illumina sequencing data? Evaluating Oxford Nanopore Technologies R10.4.1 flow cells and the Rapid v14 library prep kit for Gram negative bacteria whole genome assemblies. Can J Microbiol 2024; 70:178-189. [PMID: 38354391 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2023-0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The best whole genome assemblies are currently built from a combination of highly accurate short-read sequencing data and long-read sequencing data that can bridge repetitive and problematic regions. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) produce long-read sequencing platforms and they are continually improving their technology to obtain higher quality read data that is approaching the quality obtained from short-read platforms such as Illumina. As these innovations continue, we evaluated how much ONT read coverage produced by the Rapid Barcoding Kit v14 (SQK-RBK114) is necessary to generate high-quality hybrid and long-read-only genome assemblies for a panel of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales bacterial isolates. We found that 30× long-read coverage is sufficient if Illumina data are available, and that more (at least 100× long-read coverage is recommended for long-read-only assemblies. Illumina polishing is still improving single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and INDELs in long-read-only assemblies. We also examined if antimicrobial resistance genes could be accurately identified in long-read-only data, and found that Flye assemblies regardless of ONT coverage detected >96% of resistance genes at 100% identity and length. Overall, the Rapid Barcoding Kit v14 and long-read-only assemblies can be an optimal sequencing strategy (i.e., plasmid characterization and AMR detection) but finer-scale analyses (i.e., SNV) still benefit from short-read data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Lerminiaux
- National Microbiology Lab, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Ken Fakharuddin
- National Microbiology Lab, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Michael R Mulvey
- National Microbiology Lab, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Laura Mataseje
- National Microbiology Lab, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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2
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Eisenhofer R, Nesme J, Santos-Bay L, Koziol A, Sørensen SJ, Alberdi A, Aizpurua O. A comparison of short-read, HiFi long-read, and hybrid strategies for genome-resolved metagenomics. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0359023. [PMID: 38451230 PMCID: PMC10986573 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03590-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Shotgun metagenomics enables the reconstruction of complex microbial communities at a high level of detail. Such an approach can be conducted using both short-read and long-read sequencing data, as well as a combination of both. To assess the pros and cons of these different approaches, we used 22 fecal DNA extracts collected weekly for 11 weeks from two respective lab mice to study seven performance metrics over four combinations of sequencing depth and technology: (i) 20 Gbp of Illumina short-read data, (ii) 40 Gbp of short-read data, (iii) 20 Gbp of PacBio HiFi long-read data, and (iv) 40 Gbp of hybrid (20 Gbp of short-read +20 Gbp of long-read) data. No strategy was best for all metrics; instead, each one excelled across different metrics. The long-read approach yielded the best assembly statistics, with the highest N50 and lowest number of contigs. The 40 Gbp short-read approach yielded the highest number of refined bins. Finally, the hybrid approach yielded the longest assemblies and the highest mapping rate to the bacterial genomes. Our results suggest that while long-read sequencing significantly improves the quality of reconstructed bacterial genomes, it is more expensive and requires deeper sequencing than short-read approaches to recover a comparable amount of reconstructed genomes. The most optimal strategy is study-specific and depends on how researchers assess the trade-off between the quantity and quality of recovered genomes.IMPORTANCEMice are an important model organism for understanding the gut microbiome. When studying these gut microbiomes using DNA techniques, researchers can choose from technologies that use short or long DNA reads. In this study, we perform an extensive benchmark between short- and long-read DNA sequencing for studying mice gut microbiomes. We find that no one approach was best for all metrics and provide information that can help guide researchers in planning their experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Eisenhofer
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joseph Nesme
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Luisa Santos-Bay
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Adam Koziol
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Søren Johannes Sørensen
- Section of Microbiology, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Antton Alberdi
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ostaizka Aizpurua
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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3
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Han K, Li J, Yang D, Zhuang Q, Zeng H, Rong C, Yue J, Li N, Gu C, Chen L, Chen C. Detecting horizontal gene transfer with metagenomics co-barcoding sequencing. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0360223. [PMID: 38315121 PMCID: PMC10913427 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03602-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the process through which genetic information is transferred between different genomes and that played a crucial role in bacterial evolution. HGT can enable bacteria to rapidly acquire antibiotic resistance and bacteria that have acquired resistance is spreading within the microbiome. Conventional methods of characterizing HGT patterns include short-read metagenomic sequencing (short-reads mNGS), long-read sequencing, and single-cell sequencing. These approaches present several limitations, such as short-read fragments, high amounts of input DNA, and sequencing costs, respectively. Here, we attempt to circumvent present limitations to detect HGT by developing a metagenomics co-barcode sequencing workflow (MECOS) and applying it to the human and mouse gut microbiomes. In addition to that, we have over 10-fold increased contig length compared to short-reads mNGS; we also obtained exceeding 30 million paired reads with co-barcode information. Applying the novel bioinformatic pipeline, we integrated this co-barcoding information and the context information from long reads, and observed over 50-fold HGT events after we corrected the potential wrong HGT events. Specifically, we detected approximately 3,000 HGT blocks in individual samples, encompassing ~6,000 genes and ~100 taxonomic groups, including loci conferring tetracycline resistance through ribosomal protection. MECOS provides a valuable tool for investigating HGT and advance our understanding on the evolution of natural microbial communities within hosts.IMPORTANCEIn this study, to better identify horizontal gene transfer (HGT) in individual samples, we introduce a new co-barcoding sequencing system called metagenomics co-barcoding sequencing (MECOS), which has three significant improvements: (i) long DNA fragment extraction, (ii) a special transposome insertion, (iii) hybridization of DNA to barcode beads, and (4) an integrated bioinformatic pipeline. Using our approach, we have over 10-fold increased contig length compared to short-reads mNGS, and observed over 50-fold HGT events after we corrected the potential wrong HGT events. Our results indicate the presence of approximately 3,000 HGT blocks, involving roughly 6,000 genes and 100 taxonomic groups in individual samples. Notably, these HGT events are predominantly enriched in genes that confer tetracycline resistance via ribosomal protection. MECOS is a useful tool for investigating HGT and the evolution of natural microbial communities within hosts, thereby advancing our understanding of microbial ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Han
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiarui Li
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Duo Yang
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qinghui Zhuang
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Zeng
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chengbo Rong
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinglin Yue
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Na Li
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chaoyang Gu
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Biomedical Innovation Center and Beijing Key Laboratory for Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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4
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Harmer CJ, Hall RM. IS 26 and the IS 26 family: versatile resistance gene movers and genome reorganizers. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2024:e0011922. [PMID: 38436262 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00119-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYIn Gram-negative bacteria, the insertion sequence IS26 is highly active in disseminating antibiotic resistance genes. IS26 can recruit a gene or group of genes into the mobile gene pool and support their continued dissemination to new locations by creating pseudo-compound transposons (PCTs) that can be further mobilized by the insertion sequence (IS). IS26 can also enhance expression of adjacent potential resistance genes. IS26 encodes a DDE transposase but has unique properties. It forms cointegrates between two separate DNA molecules using two mechanisms. The well-known copy-in (replicative) route generates an additional IS copy and duplicates the target site. The recently discovered and more efficient and targeted conservative mechanism requires an IS in both participating molecules and does not generate any new sequence. The unit of movement for PCTs, known as a translocatable unit or TU, includes only one IS26. TU formed by homologous recombination between the bounding IS26s can be reincorporated via either cointegration route. However, the targeted conservative reaction is key to generation of arrays of overlapping PCTs seen in resistant pathogens. Using the copy-in route, IS26 can also act on a site in the same DNA molecule, either inverting adjacent DNA or generating an adjacent deletion plus a circular molecule carrying the DNA segment lost and an IS copy. If reincorporated, these circular molecules create a new PCT. IS26 is the best characterized IS in the IS26 family, which includes IS257/IS431, ISSau10, IS1216, IS1006, and IS1008 that are also implicated in spreading resistance genes in Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Harmer
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ruth M Hall
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Wetzstein N, Diricks M, Andres S, Kuhns M, Marschall L, Biciusca T, Smaczny C, Friesen I, Niemann S, Wichelhaus TA. Genomic diversity and clinical relevance of Mycobacterium simiae. ERJ Open Res 2024; 10:00773-2023. [PMID: 38500796 PMCID: PMC10945383 DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00773-2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Mycobacterium simiae is a slow-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium that can cause non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pulmonary disease and extrapulmonary infections. Until now, detailed genomic and clinical characteristics, as well as possible transmission routes of this rare pathogen remain largely unknown. Methods We conducted whole genome sequencing of available M. simiae isolates collected at a tertiary care centre in Central Germany from 2006 to 2020 and set them into context with publicly available M. simiae complex sequences through phylogenetic analysis. Resistance, virulence and stress genes, as well as known Mycobacteriaceae plasmid sequences were detected in whole genome raw reads. Clinical data and course were retrieved and correlated with genomic data. Results We included 33 M. simiae sensu stricto isolates from seven patients. M. simiae showed low clinical relevance with only two patients fulfilling American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria in our cohort and three receiving NTM-effective therapy. The bacterial populations were highly stable over time periods of up to 14 years, and no instances of mixed or re-infections with other strains of M. simiae were observed. Clustering with <12 single nucleotide polymorphisms distance was evident among isolates from different patients; however, proof for human-to-human transmission could not be established from epidemiological data. Conclusion Overall, the available sequence data for M. simiae complex was significantly extended and new insights into its pathogenomic traits were obtained. We demonstrate high longitudinal genomic stability within single patients. Although we cannot exclude human-to-human transmission, we consider it unlikely in the light of available epidemiological data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Wetzstein
- Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- These authors contributed equally as first authors
| | - Margo Diricks
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- These authors contributed equally as first authors
| | - Sönke Andres
- National and WHO Supranational Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
| | - Martin Kuhns
- National and WHO Supranational Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
| | - Lisa Marschall
- Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Teodora Biciusca
- Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Christina Smaczny
- Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Pneumology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Inna Friesen
- National and WHO Supranational Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
| | - Stefan Niemann
- Molecular and Experimental Mycobacteriology, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
- National and WHO Supranational Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center, Borstel, Germany
- These authors contributed equally as senior authors
| | - Thomas A. Wichelhaus
- Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital, Institute of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- These authors contributed equally as senior authors
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Paganini JA, Kerkvliet JJ, Vader L, Plantinga NL, Meneses R, Corander J, Willems RJL, Arredondo-Alonso S, Schürch AC. PlasmidEC and gplas2: an optimized short-read approach to predict and reconstruct antibiotic resistance plasmids in Escherichia coli. Microb Genom 2024; 10:001193. [PMID: 38376388 PMCID: PMC10926690 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.001193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Accurate reconstruction of Escherichia coli antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) plasmids from Illumina sequencing data has proven to be a challenge with current bioinformatic tools. In this work, we present an improved method to reconstruct E. coli plasmids using short reads. We developed plasmidEC, an ensemble classifier that identifies plasmid-derived contigs by combining the output of three different binary classification tools. We showed that plasmidEC is especially suited to classify contigs derived from ARG plasmids with a high recall of 0.941. Additionally, we optimized gplas, a graph-based tool that bins plasmid-predicted contigs into distinct plasmid predictions. Gplas2 is more effective at recovering plasmids with large sequencing coverage variations and can be combined with the output of any binary classifier. The combination of plasmidEC with gplas2 showed a high completeness (median=0.818) and F1-Score (median=0.812) when reconstructing ARG plasmids and exceeded the binning capacity of the reference-based method MOB-suite. In the absence of long-read data, our method offers an excellent alternative to reconstruct ARG plasmids in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian A. Paganini
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jesse J. Kerkvliet
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Lisa Vader
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Nienke L. Plantinga
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Rodrigo Meneses
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jukka Corander
- Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Parasites and Microbes, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Helsinki Institute of Information Technology, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Rob J. L. Willems
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sergio Arredondo-Alonso
- Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Parasites and Microbes, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Anita C. Schürch
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Schäfer L, Jehle JA, Kleespies RG, Wennmann JT. A practical guide and Galaxy workflow to avoid inter-plasmidic repeat collapse and false gene loss in Unicycler's hybrid assemblies. Microb Genom 2024; 10:001173. [PMID: 38197876 PMCID: PMC10868617 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.001173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Generating complete, high-quality genome assemblies is key for any downstream analysis, such as comparative genomics. For bacterial genome assembly, various algorithms and fully automated pipelines exist, which are free-of-charge and easily accessible. However, these assembly tools often cannot unambiguously resolve a bacterial genome, for example due to the presence of sequence repeat structures on the chromosome or on plasmids. Then, a more sophisticated approach and/or manual curation is needed. Such modifications can be challenging, especially for non-bioinformaticians, because they are generally not considered as a straightforward process. In this study, we propose a standardized approach for manual genome completion focusing on the popular hybrid assembly pipeline Unicycler. The provided Galaxy workflow addresses two weaknesses in Unicycler's hybrid assemblies: (i) collapse of inter-plasmidic repeats and (ii) false loss of single-copy sequences. To demonstrate and validate how to detect and resolve these assembly errors, we use two genomes from the Bacillus cereus group. By applying the proposed pipeline following an automated assembly, the genome sequence quality can be significantly improved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Schäfer
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biological Control, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany
| | - Johannes A. Jehle
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biological Control, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany
| | - Regina G. Kleespies
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biological Control, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany
| | - Jörg T. Wennmann
- Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biological Control, Schwabenheimer Str. 101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany
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Lerminiaux N, Mitchell R, Bartoszko J, Davis I, Ellis C, Fakharuddin K, Hota SS, Katz K, Kibsey P, Leis JA, Longtin Y, McGeer A, Minion J, Mulvey M, Musto S, Rajda E, Smith SW, Srigley JA, Suh KN, Thampi N, Tomlinson J, Wong T, Mataseje L. Plasmid genomic epidemiology of blaKPC carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales in Canada, 2010-2021. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2023; 67:e0086023. [PMID: 37971242 PMCID: PMC10720558 DOI: 10.1128/aac.00860-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Carbapenems are considered last-resort antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales, but carbapenem resistance due to acquisition of carbapenemase genes is a growing threat that has been reported worldwide. Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (blaKPC) is the most common type of carbapenemase in Canada and elsewhere; it can hydrolyze penicillins, cephalosporins, aztreonam, and carbapenems and is frequently found on mobile plasmids in the Tn4401 transposon. This means that alongside clonal expansion, blaKPC can disseminate through plasmid- and transposon-mediated horizontal gene transfer. We applied whole genome sequencing to characterize the molecular epidemiology of 829 blaKPC carbapenemase-producing isolates collected by the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program from 2010 to 2021. Using a combination of short-read and long-read sequencing, we obtained 202 complete and circular blaKPC-encoding plasmids. Using MOB-suite, 10 major plasmid clusters were identified from this data set which represented 87% (175/202) of the Canadian blaKPC-encoding plasmids. We further estimated the genomic location of incomplete blaKPC-encoding contigs and predicted a plasmid cluster for 95% (603/635) of these. We identified different patterns of carbapenemase mobilization across Canada related to different plasmid clusters, including clonal transmission of IncF-type plasmids (108/829, 13%) in K. pneumoniae clonal complex 258 and novel repE(pEh60-7) plasmids (44/829, 5%) in Enterobacter hormaechei ST316, and horizontal transmission of IncL/M (142/829, 17%) and IncN-type plasmids (149/829, 18%) across multiple genera. Our findings highlight the diversity of blaKPC genomic loci and indicate that multiple, distinct plasmid clusters have contributed to blaKPC spread and persistence in Canada.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ian Davis
- QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Chelsey Ellis
- The Moncton Hospital, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
| | - Ken Fakharuddin
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Susy S. Hota
- University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kevin Katz
- North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pamela Kibsey
- Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jerome A. Leis
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yves Longtin
- Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Jessica Minion
- Saskatchewan Health Authority, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Michael Mulvey
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Sonja Musto
- Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Ewa Rajda
- McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Jocelyn A. Srigley
- BC Women’s and BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Nisha Thampi
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Titus Wong
- Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Laura Mataseje
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - on behalf of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
- The Moncton Hospital, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
- University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- North York General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Jewish General Hospital, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- Sinai Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Saskatchewan Health Authority, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- BC Women’s and BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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9
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Sielemann J, Sielemann K, Brejová B, Vinař T, Chauve C. plASgraph2: using graph neural networks to detect plasmid contigs from an assembly graph. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1267695. [PMID: 37869681 PMCID: PMC10587606 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1267695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Identification of plasmids from sequencing data is an important and challenging problem related to antimicrobial resistance spread and other One-Health issues. We provide a new architecture for identifying plasmid contigs in fragmented genome assemblies built from short-read data. We employ graph neural networks (GNNs) and the assembly graph to propagate the information from nearby nodes, which leads to more accurate classification, especially for short contigs that are difficult to classify based on sequence features or database searches alone. We trained plASgraph2 on a data set of samples from the ESKAPEE group of pathogens. plASgraph2 either outperforms or performs on par with a wide range of state-of-the-art methods on testing sets of independent ESKAPEE samples and samples from related pathogens. On one hand, our study provides a new accurate and easy to use tool for contig classification in bacterial isolates; on the other hand, it serves as a proof-of-concept for the use of GNNs in genomics. Our software is available at https://github.com/cchauve/plasgraph2 and the training and testing data sets are available at https://github.com/fmfi-compbio/plasgraph2-datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janik Sielemann
- Computational Biology, Faculty of Biology, Center for Biotechnology & Graduate School Digital Infrastructures for the Life Sciences (DILS), Bielefeld Institute for Bioinformatics Infrastructure, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Katharina Sielemann
- Genetics and Genomics of Plants, Faculty of Biology, Center for Biotechnology & Graduate School Digital Infrastructures for the Life Sciences (DILS), Bielefeld Institute for Bioinformatics Infrastructure, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Broňa Brejová
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Tomáš Vinař
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Cedric Chauve
- Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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10
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Lopes R, Furlan JPR, Ramos MS, Santos LDRD, Rosa RDS, Stehling EG. Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae ST1859 O5:KL35 from Soil: First Report of qnrE1 in the Environment. Microb Drug Resist 2023; 29:492-496. [PMID: 37428613 DOI: 10.1089/mdr.2023.0075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2023] Open
Abstract
A Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae strain, named S915, belonging to the ST1859 O5:KL35, and harboring the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance qnrE1 gene, was isolated from a soil sample cultivated with lettuce in Brazil. The core genome multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed that S915 strain was most related to a clinical strain of Brazil. Comparative genomic analysis showed that ST1859 O5:KL35 strains have been circulating in clinical settings and are closely related to multidrug resistance and multimetal tolerance. Strain S915 presented a plasmid contig co-harboring the qnrE1 gene and tellurite tolerance operon. The region harboring the qnrE1 gene (ISEcp1-qnrE1-araJ-ahp) shared high similarity with others from infected humans, ready-to-eat dish, and food-producing animals in Brazil. This is the first report of the plasmid-mediated qnrE1 gene in the environment. Our findings evidence the initial dissemination of the qnrE1 gene in the environment by the introduction of a clinical strain, which may be spread to different sectors, representing a One Health challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralf Lopes
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - João Pedro Rueda Furlan
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Micaela Santana Ramos
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Lucas David Rodrigues Dos Santos
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Rafael da Silva Rosa
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Eliana Guedes Stehling
- Department of Clinical Analyses, Toxicology and Food Science, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
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11
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Petrin S, Orsini M, Massaro A, Olsen JE, Barco L, Losasso C. Phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance correlation and plasmid characterization in Salmonella spp. isolates from Italy reveal high heterogeneity among serovars. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1221351. [PMID: 37744490 PMCID: PMC10513437 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1221351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The spread of antimicrobial resistance among zoonotic pathogens such as Salmonella is a serious health threat, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) carrying antimicrobial resistance genes favor this phenomenon. In this work, phenotypic antimicrobial resistance to commonly used antimicrobials was studied, and the antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and plasmid replicons associated with the resistances were determined. Methods Eighty-eight Italian Salmonella enterica strains (n = 88), from human, animal and food sources, isolated between 2009 and 2019, were selected to represent serovars with different frequency of isolation in human cases of salmonellosis. The presence of plasmid replicons was also investigated. Results and discussion Resistances to sulphonamides (23.9%), ciprofloxacin (27.3%), ampicillin (29.5%), and tetracycline (32.9%) were the most found phenotypes. ARGs identified in the genomes correlated with the phenotypical results, with blaTEM-1B, sul1, sul2, tetA and tetB genes being frequently identified. Point mutations in gyrA and parC genes were also detected, in addition to many different aminoglycoside-modifying genes, which, however, did not cause phenotypic resistance to aminoglycosides. Many genomes presented plasmid replicons, however, only a limited number of ARGs were predicted to be located on the contigs carrying these replicons. As an expectation of this, multiple ARGs were identified on contigs with IncQ1 plasmid replicon in strains belonging to the monophasic variant of Salmonella Typhimurium. In general, high variability in ARGs and plasmid replicons content was observed among isolates, highlighting a high level of heterogeneity in Salmonella enterica. Irrespective of the serovar., many of the ARGs, especially those associated with critically and highly important antimicrobials for human medicine were located together with plasmid replicons, thus favoring their successful dissemination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Petrin
- Microbial Ecology and Microrganisms Genomics Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, Legnaro, Italy
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Massimiliano Orsini
- Microbial Ecology and Microrganisms Genomics Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Andrea Massaro
- Applied Chemistry Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Vicenza, Italy
| | - John E. Olsen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Lisa Barco
- OIE and National Reference Laboratory for Salmonellosis, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Carmen Losasso
- Microbial Ecology and Microrganisms Genomics Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, Legnaro, Italy
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12
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Bogaerts B, Fraiture MA, Huwaert A, Van Nieuwenhuysen T, Jacobs B, Van Hoorde K, De Keersmaecker SCJ, Roosens NHC, Vanneste K. Retrospective surveillance of viable Bacillus cereus group contaminations in commercial food and feed vitamin B 2 products sold on the Belgian market using whole-genome sequencing. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1173594. [PMID: 37415815 PMCID: PMC10321352 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1173594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming bacterium that occurs as a contaminant in food and feed, occasionally resulting in food poisoning through the production of various toxins. In this study, we retrospectively characterized viable B. cereus sensu lato (s.l.) isolates originating from commercial vitamin B2 feed and food additives collected between 2016 and 2022 by the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain from products sold on the Belgian market. In total, 75 collected product samples were cultured on a general medium and, in case of bacterial growth, two isolates per product sample were collected and characterized using whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and subsequently characterized in terms of sequence type (ST), virulence gene profile, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene profile, plasmid content, and phylogenomic relationships. Viable B. cereus was identified in 18 of the 75 (24%) tested products, resulting in 36 WGS datasets, which were classified into eleven different STs, with ST165 (n = 10) and ST32 (n = 8) being the most common. All isolates carried multiple genes encoding virulence factors, including cytotoxin K-2 (52.78%) and cereulide (22.22%). Most isolates were predicted to be resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics (100%) and fosfomycin (88.89%), and a subset was predicted to be resistant to streptothricin (30.56%). Phylogenomic analysis revealed that some isolates obtained from different products were closely related or even identical indicating a likely common origin, whereas for some products the two isolates obtained did not show any close relationship to each other or other isolates found in other products. This study reveals that potentially pathogenic and drug-resistant B. cereus s.l. can be present in food and feed vitamin B2 additives that are commercially available, and that more research is warranted to assess whether their presence in these types of products poses a threat to consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bert Bogaerts
- Transversal activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | | | | | - Bram Jacobs
- Foodborne Pathogens, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
- Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation, Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | | | | | | | - Kevin Vanneste
- Transversal activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
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13
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Zhu Q, Gao S, Xiao B, He Z, Hu S. Plasmer: an Accurate and Sensitive Bacterial Plasmid Prediction Tool Based on Machine Learning of Shared k-mers and Genomic Features. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0464522. [PMID: 37191574 PMCID: PMC10269668 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04645-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Identification of plasmids in bacterial genomes is critical for many factors, including horizontal gene transfer, antibiotic resistance genes, host-microbe interactions, cloning vectors, and industrial production. There are several in silico methods to predict plasmid sequences in assembled genomes. However, existing methods have evident shortcomings, such as unbalance in sensitivity and specificity, dependency on species-specific models, and performance reduction in sequences shorter than 10 kb, which has limited their scope of applicability. In this work, we proposed Plasmer, a novel plasmid predictor based on machine-learning of shared k-mers and genomic features. Unlike existing k-mer or genomic-feature based methods, Plasmer employs the random forest algorithm to make predictions using the percent of shared k-mers with plasmid and chromosome databases combined with other genomic features, including alignment E value and replicon distribution scores (RDS). Plasmer can predict on multiple species and has achieved an average the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.996 with accuracy of 98.4%. Compared to existing methods, tests of both sliding sequences and simulated and de novo assemblies have consistently shown that Plasmer has outperforming accuracy and stable performance across long and short contigs above 500 bp, demonstrating its applicability for fragmented assemblies. Plasmer also has excellent and balanced performance on both sensitivity and specificity (both >0.95 above 500 bp) with the highest F1-score, which has eliminated the bias on sensitivity or specificity that was common in existing methods. Plasmer also provides taxonomy classification to help identify the origin of plasmids. IMPORTANCE In this study, we proposed a novel plasmid prediction tool named Plasmer. Technically, unlike existing k-mer or genomic features-based methods, Plasmer is the first tool to combine the advantages of the percent of shared k-mers and the alignment score of genomic features. This has given Plasmer (i) evident improvement in performance compared to other methods, with the best F1-score and accuracy on sliding sequences, simulated contigs, and de novo assemblies; (ii) applicability for contigs above 500 bp with highest accuracy, enabling plasmid prediction in fragmented short-read assemblies; (iii) excellent and balanced performance between sensitivity and specificity (both >0.95 above 500 bp) with the highest F1-score, which eliminated the bias on sensitivity or specificity that commonly existed in other methods; and (iv) no dependency of species-specific training models. We believe that Plasmer provides a more reliable alternative for plasmid prediction in bacterial genome assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qianhui Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shenghan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Binghan Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zilong He
- School of Engineering Medicine, Beihang University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Big Data-Based Precision Medicine, Interdisciplinary Innovation Institute of Medicine and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| | - Songnian Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Sino-Danish College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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14
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Harrison L, Zhao S, Li C, McDermott PF, Tyson GH, Strain E. Lociq provides a loci-seeking approach for enhanced plasmid subtyping and structural characterization. Commun Biol 2023; 6:595. [PMID: 37268717 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04981-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) monitoring for public health is relying more on whole genome sequencing to characterize and compare resistant strains. This requires new approaches to describe and track AMR that take full advantage of the detailed data provided by genomic technologies. The plasmid-mediated transfer of AMR genes is a primary concern for AMR monitoring because plasmid rearrangement events can integrate new AMR genes into the plasmid backbone or promote hybridization of multiple plasmids. To better monitor plasmid evolution and dissemination, we developed the Lociq subtyping method to classify plasmids by variations in the sequence and arrangement of core plasmid genetic elements. Subtyping with Lociq provides an alpha-numeric nomenclature that can be used to denominate plasmid population diversity and characterize the relevant features of individual plasmids. Here we demonstrate how Lociq generates typing schema to track and characterize the origin, evolution and epidemiology of multidrug resistant plasmids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Harrison
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA.
| | - Shaohua Zhao
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Cong Li
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Patrick F McDermott
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Gregory H Tyson
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Errol Strain
- Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, MD, USA
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15
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Walas N, Slown S, Amato HK, Lloyd T, Bender M, Varghese V, Pandori M, Graham JP. The role of plasmids in carbapenem resistant E. coli in Alameda County, California. BMC Microbiol 2023; 23:147. [PMID: 37217873 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02900-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antimicrobial resistant infections continue to be a leading global public health crisis. Mobile genetic elements, such as plasmids, have been shown to play a major role in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Despite its ongoing threat to human health, surveillance of AMR in the United States is often limited to phenotypic resistance. Genomic analyses are important to better understand the underlying resistance mechanisms, assess risk, and implement appropriate prevention strategies. This study aimed to investigate the extent of plasmid mediated antimicrobial resistance that can be inferred from short read sequences of carbapenem resistant E. coli (CR-Ec) in Alameda County, California. E. coli isolates from healthcare locations in Alameda County were sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq and assembled with Unicycler. Genomes were categorized according to predefined multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) schemes. Resistance genes were identified and corresponding contigs were predicted to be plasmid-borne or chromosome-borne using two bioinformatic tools (MOB-suite and mlplasmids). RESULTS Among 82 of CR-Ec identified between 2017 and 2019, twenty-five sequence types (STs) were detected. ST131 was the most prominent (n = 17) followed closely by ST405 (n = 12). blaCTX-M were the most common ESBL genes and just over half (18/30) of these genes were predicted to be plasmid-borne by both MOB-suite and mlplasmids. Three genetically related groups of E. coli isolates were identified with cgMLST. One of the groups contained an isolate with a chromosome-borne blaCTX-M-15 gene and an isolate with a plasmid-borne blaCTX-M-15 gene. CONCLUSIONS This study provides insights into the dominant clonal groups driving carbapenem resistant E. coli infections in Alameda County, CA, USA clinical sites and highlights the relevance of whole-genome sequencing in routine local genomic surveillance. The finding of multi-drug resistant plasmids harboring high-risk resistance genes is of concern as it indicates a risk of dissemination to previously susceptible clonal groups, potentially complicating clinical and public health intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolina Walas
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
| | - Samuel Slown
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Heather K Amato
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Tyler Lloyd
- Alameda County Public Health Laboratory, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Monica Bender
- Alameda County Public Health Laboratory, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Vici Varghese
- Alameda County Public Health Laboratory, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Mark Pandori
- Alameda County Public Health Laboratory, Oakland, CA, USA
- Nevada State Public Health Laboratory, Reno, NV, USA
| | - Jay P Graham
- School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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16
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Lee KY, Lavelle K, Huang A, Atwill ER, Pitesky M, Li X. Assessment of Prevalence and Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistant Escherichia coli from Retail Meats in Southern California. Antibiotics (Basel) 2023; 12:antibiotics12040782. [PMID: 37107144 PMCID: PMC10135137 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12040782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Retail meat products may serve as reservoirs and conduits for antimicrobial resistance, which is frequently monitored using Escherichia coli as indicator bacteria. In this study, E. coli isolation was conducted on 221 retail meat samples (56 chicken, 54 ground turkey, 55 ground beef, and 56 pork chops) collected over a one-year period from grocery stores in southern California. The overall prevalence of E. coli in retail meat samples was 47.51% (105/221), with E. coli contamination found to be significantly associated with meat type and season of sampling. From antimicrobial susceptibility testing, 51 isolates (48.57%) were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested, 54 (51.34%) were resistant to at least 1 drug, 39 (37.14%) to 2 or more drugs, and 21 (20.00%) to 3 or more drugs. Resistance to ampicillin, gentamicin, streptomycin, and tetracycline were significantly associated with meat type, with poultry counterparts (chicken or ground turkey) exhibiting higher odds for resistance to these drugs compared to non-poultry meats (beef and pork). From the 52 E. coli isolates selected to undergo whole-genome sequencing (WGS), 27 antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) were identified and predicted phenotypic AMR profiles with an overall sensitivity and specificity of 93.33% and 99.84%, respectively. Clustering assessment and co-occurrence networks revealed that the genomic AMR determinants of E. coli from retail meat were highly heterogeneous, with a sparsity of shared gene networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie Yen Lee
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Kurtis Lavelle
- Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Anny Huang
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Edward Robert Atwill
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Maurice Pitesky
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Xunde Li
- Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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17
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Nobrega D, Peirano G, Matsumura Y, Pitout JDD. Molecular Epidemiology of Global Carbapenemase-Producing Citrobacter spp. (2015-2017). Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0414422. [PMID: 36847542 PMCID: PMC10101073 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04144-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of carbapenem resistance is a significant public health concern. The rate of infections caused by carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter spp., particularly C. freundii, is increasing. Concomitantly, comprehensive global genomic data on carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter spp. are scarce. We used short read whole-genome sequencing to describe the molecular epidemiology and international distribution of eighty-six carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter spp. obtained from two surveillance programs (2015 to 17). The common carbapenemases were KPC-2 (26%), VIM-1 (17%), IMP-4 (14%) and NDM-1 (10%). C. freundii and C. portucalensis were the principal species. C. freundii consisted of multiple clones obtained mainly from Colombia (with KPC-2), the United States (with KPC-2, -3), and Italy (with VIM-1). Two dominant C. freundii clones were identified: ST98 was linked with blaIMP-8 from Taiwan and blaKPC-2 from the United States, and ST22 was linked with blaKPC-2 from Colombia and blaVIM-1 from Italy. C. portucalensis consisted mainly of two clones: ST493 with blaIMP-4 which was limited to Australia, and ST545 with blaVIM-31 which was limited to Turkey. Class I integron (In916) with blaVIM-1 was circulating between multiple sequence types (STs) in Italy, Poland, and Portugal. In73 with blaIMP-8 was circulating between various STs in Taiwan, while In809 with blaIMP-4 was circulating between different STs in Australia. The global carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter spp. population is dominated by diverse STs with different characteristics and varied geographical distribution and thus requires continued monitoring. Ongoing genomic surveillance should use methodologies able to distinguish between C. freundii and C. portucalensis. IMPORTANCE Citrobacter spp. are gaining recognition as important causes of hospital-acquired infections in humans. Among Citrobacter spp., carbapenemase-producing strains are cause of utmost concern to health care services globally due to their ability to resist therapy with virtually any beta-lactam antibiotic. Here, we described the molecular characteristics of a global collection of carbapenemase-producing Citrobacter spp. C. freundii and C. portucalensis were the most common species among Citrobacter spp. with carbapenemases from this survey. Importantly, C. portucalensis was misidentified as C. freundii when using Vitek 2.0/MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry) phenotypic identification, which has important implications for future surveys. Among C. freundii, we identified two dominant clones: ST98 with blaIMP-8 from Taiwan and blaKPC-2 from the United States, and ST22 with blaKPC-2 from Colombia and blaVIM-1 from Italy. As for C. portucalensis, the dominant clones consisted of ST493 with blaIMP-4 from Australia and ST545 with blaVIM-31 from Turkey.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Nobrega
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Gisele Peirano
- Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Cummings School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Johann D. D. Pitout
- Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Cummings School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
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18
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Behrens W, Kolte B, Junker V, Frentrup M, Dolsdorf C, Börger M, Jaleta M, Kabelitz T, Amon T, Werner D, Nübel U. Bacterial genome sequencing tracks the housefly-associated dispersal of fluoroquinolone- and cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli from a pig farm. Environ Microbiol 2023. [PMID: 36772962 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
The regular use of antimicrobials in livestock production selects for antimicrobial resistance. The potential impact of this practice on human health needs to be studied in more detail, including the role of the environment for the persistence and transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. During an investigation of a pig farm and its surroundings in Brandenburg, Germany, we detected abundant cephalosporin- and fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli in pig faeces, sedimented dust, and house flies (Musca domestica). Genome sequencing of E. coli isolates revealed large phylogenetic diversity and plasmid-borne extended-spectrum beta lactamase (ESBL) genes CTX-M-1 in multiple strains. [Correction added on 28 February 2023, after first online publication: In the preceding sentence, 'and TEM-1' was previously included but has been deleted in this version.] Close genomic relationships indicated frequent transmission of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli between pigs from different herds and across buildings of the farm and suggested dust and flies as vectors for dissemination of faecal pathogens. Strikingly, we repeatedly recovered E. coli from flies collected up to 2 km away from the source, whose genome sequences were identical or closely related to those from pig faeces isolates, indicating the fly-associated transport of diverse ESBL-producing E. coli from the pig farm into urban habitation areas. The observed proximity of contaminated flies to human households poses a risk of transmission of antimicrobial-resistant enteric pathogens from livestock to man.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke Behrens
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Baban Kolte
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Vera Junker
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Martinique Frentrup
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Claudia Dolsdorf
- Teaching and Research Station for Animal Breeding and Husbandry (LVAT), Ruhlsdorf, Germany
| | - Maria Börger
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Megarsa Jaleta
- Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Potsdam, Germany
| | - Tina Kabelitz
- Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Potsdam, Germany
| | - Thomas Amon
- Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Potsdam, Germany.,Institute for Animal Hygiene and Environmental Health (ITU), Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Doreen Werner
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Ulrich Nübel
- Leibniz-Institute DSMZ - German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany.,German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Braunschweig-Hannover, Braunschweig, Germany.,Braunschweig Integrated Center of Systems Biology (BRICS), Technical University, Braunschweig, Germany
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19
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Moshe M, Gupta CL, Sela N, Minz D, Banin E, Frenkel O, Cytryn E. Comparative genomics of Bacillus cereus sensu lato spp. biocontrol strains in correlation to in-vitro phenotypes and plant pathogen antagonistic capacity. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:996287. [PMID: 36846749 PMCID: PMC9947482 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.996287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacillus cereus sensu lato (Bcsl) strains are widely explored due to their capacity to antagonize a broad range of plant pathogens. These include B. cereus sp. UW85, whose antagonistic capacity is attributed to the secondary metabolite Zwittermicin A (ZwA). We recently isolated four soil and root-associated Bcsl strains (MO2, S-10, S-25, LSTW-24) that displayed different growth profiles and in-vitro antagonistic effects against three soilborne plant pathogens models: Pythium aphanidermatum (oomycete) Rhizoctonia solani (basidiomycete), and Fusarium oxysporum (ascomycete). To identify genetic mechanisms potentially responsible for the differences in growth and antagonistic phenotypes of these Bcsl strains, we sequenced and compared their genomes, and that of strain UW85 using a hybrid sequencing pipeline. Despite similarities, specific Bcsl strains had unique secondary metabolite and chitinase-encoding genes that could potentially explain observed differences in in-vitro chitinolytic potential and anti-fungal activity. Strains UW85, S-10 and S-25 contained a (~500 Kbp) mega-plasmid that harbored the ZwA biosynthetic gene cluster. The UW85 mega-plasmid contained more ABC transporters than the other two strains, whereas the S-25 mega-plasmid carried a unique cluster containing cellulose and chitin degrading genes. Collectively, comparative genomics revealed several mechanisms that can potentially explain differences in in-vitro antagonism of Bcsl strains toward fungal plant pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maya Moshe
- Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
- Institute of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Chhedi Lal Gupta
- Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
| | - Noa Sela
- Institute of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
| | - Dror Minz
- Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
| | - Ehud Banin
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Omer Frenkel
- Institute of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
| | - Eddie Cytryn
- Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon-Lezion, Israel
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20
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Foster-Nyarko E, Cottingham H, Wick RR, Judd LM, Lam MMC, Wyres KL, Stanton TD, Tsang KK, David S, Aanensen DM, Brisse S, Holt KE. Nanopore-only assemblies for genomic surveillance of the global priority drug-resistant pathogen, Klebsiella pneumoniae. Microb Genom 2023; 9:mgen000936. [PMID: 36752781 PMCID: PMC9997738 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing has rich potential for genomic epidemiology and public health investigations of bacterial pathogens, particularly in low-resource settings and at the point of care, due to its portability and affordability. However, low base-call accuracy has limited the reliability of ONT data for critical tasks such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence gene detection and typing, serotype prediction, and cluster identification. Thus, Illumina sequencing remains the standard for genomic surveillance despite higher capital and running costs. We tested the accuracy of ONT-only assemblies for common applied bacterial genomics tasks (genotyping and cluster detection, implemented via Kleborate, Kaptive and Pathogenwatch), using data from 54 unique Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates. ONT reads generated via MinION with R9.4.1 flowcells were basecalled using three alternative models [Fast, High-accuracy (HAC) and Super-accuracy (SUP), available within ONT's Guppy software], assembled with Flye and polished using Medaka. Accuracy of typing using ONT-only assemblies was compared with that of Illumina-only and hybrid ONT+Illumina assemblies, constructed from the same isolates as reference standards. The most resource-intensive ONT-assembly approach (SUP basecalling, with or without Medaka polishing) performed best, yielding reliable capsule (K) type calls for all strains (100 % exact or best matching locus), reliable multi-locus sequence type (MLST) assignment (98.3 % exact match or single-locus variants), and good detection of acquired AMR genes and mutations (88-100 % correct identification across the various drug classes). Distance-based trees generated from SUP+Medaka assemblies accurately reflected overall genetic relationships between isolates. The definition of outbreak clusters from ONT-only assemblies was problematic due to inflation of SNP counts by high base-call errors. However, ONT data could be reliably used to 'rule out' isolates of distinct lineages from suspected transmission clusters. HAC basecalling + Medaka polishing performed similarly to SUP basecalling without polishing. Therefore, we recommend investing compute resources into basecalling (SUP model), wherever compute resources and time allow, and note that polishing is also worthwhile for improved performance. Overall, our results show that MLST, K type and AMR determinants can be reliably identified with ONT-only R9.4.1 flowcell data. However, cluster detection remains challenging with this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- *Correspondence: Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko,
| | - Hugh Cottingham
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Ryan R. Wick
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Louise M. Judd
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Margaret M. C. Lam
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Kelly L. Wyres
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
| | - Thomas D. Stanton
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Kara K. Tsang
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Sophia David
- Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance, Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - David M. Aanensen
- Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance, Big Data Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Oxford University, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK
| | - Sylvain Brisse
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Biodiversity and Epidemiology of Bacterial Pathogens, Paris, France
| | - Kathryn E. Holt
- Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia
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21
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Berbers B, Vanneste K, Roosens NHCJ, Marchal K, Ceyssens PJ, De Keersmaecker SCJ. Using a combination of short- and long-read sequencing to investigate the diversity in plasmid- and chromosomally encoded extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) in clinical Shigella and Salmonella isolates in Belgium. Microb Genom 2023; 9:mgen000925. [PMID: 36748573 PMCID: PMC9973847 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
For antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance, it is important not only to detect AMR genes, but also to determine their plasmidic or chromosomal location, as this will impact their spread differently. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is increasingly used for AMR surveillance. However, determining the genetic context of AMR genes using only short-read sequencing is complicated. The combination with long-read sequencing offers a potential solution, as it allows hybrid assemblies. Nevertheless, its use in surveillance has so far been limited. This study aimed to demonstrate its added value for AMR surveillance based on a case study of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs). ESBL genes have been reported to occur also on plasmids. To gain insight into the diversity and genetic context of ESBL genes detected in clinical isolates received by the Belgian National Reference Center between 2013 and 2018, 100 ESBL-producing Shigella and 31 ESBL-producing Salmonella were sequenced with MiSeq and a representative selection of 20 Shigella and six Salmonella isolates additionally with MinION technology, allowing hybrid assembly. The bla CTX-M-15 gene was found to be responsible for a rapid rise in the ESBL Shigella phenotype from 2017. This gene was mostly detected on multi-resistance-carrying IncFII plasmids. Based on clustering, these plasmids were determined to be distinct from the circulating plasmids before 2017. They were spread to different Shigella species and within Shigella sonnei between multiple genotypes. Another similar IncFII plasmid was detected after 2017 containing bla CTX-M-27 for which only clonal expansion occurred. Matches of up to 99 % to plasmids of various bacterial hosts from all over the world were found, but global alignments indicated that direct or recent ESBL-plasmid transfers did not occur. It is most likely that travellers introduced these in Belgium and subsequently spread them domestically. However, a clear link to a specific country could not be made. Moreover, integration of bla CTX-M in the chromosome of two Shigella isolates was determined for the first time, and shown to be related to ISEcp1. In contrast, in Salmonella, ESBL genes were only found on plasmids, of which bla CTX-M-55 and IncHI2 were the most prevalent, respectively. No matching ESBL plasmids or cassettes were detected between clinical Shigella and Salmonella isolates. The hybrid assembly data allowed us to check the accuracy of plasmid prediction tools. MOB-suite showed the highest accuracy. However, these tools cannot replace the accuracy of long-read and hybrid assemblies. This study illustrates the added value of hybrid assemblies for AMR surveillance and shows that a strategy where even just representative isolates of a collection used for hybrid assemblies could improve international AMR surveillance as it allows plasmid tracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bas Berbers
- Transversal Activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Information Technology, IDLab, Ghent University, IMEC, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kevin Vanneste
- Transversal Activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Nancy H C J Roosens
- Transversal Activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Kathleen Marchal
- Department of Information Technology, IDLab, Ghent University, IMEC, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
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22
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Aytan-Aktug D, Grigorjev V, Szarvas J, Clausen PTLC, Munk P, Nguyen M, Davis JJ, Aarestrup FM, Lund O. SourceFinder: a Machine-Learning-Based Tool for Identification of Chromosomal, Plasmid, and Bacteriophage Sequences from Assemblies. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0264122. [PMID: 36377945 PMCID: PMC9769690 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02641-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
High-throughput genome sequencing technologies enable the investigation of complex genetic interactions, including the horizontal gene transfer of plasmids and bacteriophages. However, identifying these elements from assembled reads remains challenging due to genome sequence plasticity and the difficulty in assembling complete sequences. In this study, we developed a classifier, using random forest, to identify whether sequences originated from bacterial chromosomes, plasmids, or bacteriophages. The classifier was trained on a diverse collection of 23,211 chromosomal, plasmid, and bacteriophage sequences from hundreds of bacterial species. In order to adapt the classifier to incomplete sequences, each complete sequence was subsampled into 5,000 nucleotide fragments and further subdivided into k-mers. This three-class classifier succeeded in identifying chromosomes, plasmids, and bacteriophages using k-mer distributions of complete and partial genome sequences, including simulated metagenomic scaffolds with minimum performance of 0.939 area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). This classifier, implemented as SourceFinder, has been made available as an online web service to help the community with predicting the chromosomal, plasmid, and bacteriophage sources of assembled bacterial sequence data (https://cge.food.dtu.dk/services/SourceFinder/). IMPORTANCE Extra-chromosomal genes encoding antimicrobial resistance, metal resistance, and virulence provide selective advantages for bacterial survival under stress conditions and pose serious threats to human and animal health. These accessory genes can impact the composition of microbiomes by providing selective advantages to their hosts. Accurately identifying extra-chromosomal elements in genome sequence data are critical for understanding gene dissemination trajectories and taking preventative measures. Therefore, in this study, we developed a random forest classifier for identifying the source of bacterial chromosomal, plasmid, and bacteriophage sequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derya Aytan-Aktug
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Vladislav Grigorjev
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Judit Szarvas
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Patrick Munk
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Marcus Nguyen
- Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA
- Northwestern Argonne Institute for Science and Engineering, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - James J. Davis
- Consortium for Advanced Science and Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Data Science and Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA
- Northwestern Argonne Institute for Science and Engineering, Evanston, Illinois, USA
| | - Frank M. Aarestrup
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Ole Lund
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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23
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Johnson G, Bataclan S, So M, Banerjee S, Wolfe AJ, Putonti C. Plasmids of the urinary microbiota. Access Microbiol 2022; 4:acmi000429. [PMID: 36644432 PMCID: PMC9833419 DOI: 10.1099/acmi.0.000429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of the last decade have identified a phylogenetically diverse community of bacteria within the urinary tract of individuals with and without urinary symptoms. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs), including plasmids and phages, within this niche have only recently begun to be explored. These MGEs can expand metabolic capacity and increase virulence, as well as confer antibiotic resistance. As such, they have the potential to contribute to urinary symptoms. While plasmids for some of the bacterial taxa found within the urinary microbiota (urobiome) have been well characterized, many urinary species are under-studied with few genomes sequenced to date. Using a two-pronged bioinformatic approach, we have conducted a comprehensive investigation of the plasmid content of urinary isolates representative of 102 species. The bioinformatic tools plasmidSPAdes and Recycler were used in tandem to identify plasmid sequences from raw short-read sequence data followed by manual curation. In total, we identified 603 high-confidence plasmid sequences in 20 different genera of the urobiome. In total, 70 % of these high-confidence plasmids exhibit sequence similarity to plasmid sequences from the gut. This observation is primarily driven by plasmids from E. coli , which is found in both anatomical niches. To confirm our bioinformatic predictions, long-read sequencing was performed for 23 of the E. coli isolates in addition to two E. coli strains that were sequenced as part of a prior study. Overall, 66.95 % of these predictions were confirmed highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of current bioinformatic tools. Future studies of the urobiome, especially concerning under-studied species in the urobiome, should employ long-read sequencing to expand the catalogue of plasmids for this niche.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Seanna Bataclan
- Biology Program, Division of Natural Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU, USA
| | - Minerva So
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Swarnali Banerjee
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Alan J. Wolfe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA
| | - Catherine Putonti
- Bioinformatics Program, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA,Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL, USA,Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA,*Correspondence: Catherine Putonti,
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24
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Sanders JG, Yan W, Mjungu D, Lonsdorf EV, Hart JA, Sanz CM, Morgan DB, Peeters M, Hahn BH, Moeller AH. A low-cost genomics workflow enables isolate screening and strain-level analyses within microbiomes. Genome Biol 2022; 23:212. [PMID: 36224660 PMCID: PMC9558970 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-022-02777-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Earth's environments harbor complex consortia of microbes that affect processes ranging from host health to biogeochemical cycles. Understanding their evolution and function is limited by an inability to isolate genomes in a high-throughput manner. Here, we present a workflow for bacterial whole-genome sequencing using open-source labware and the OpenTrons robotics platform, reducing costs to approximately $10 per genome. We assess genomic diversity within 45 gut bacterial species from wild-living chimpanzees and bonobos. We quantify intraspecific genomic diversity and reveal divergence of homologous plasmids between hosts. This enables population genetic analyses of bacterial strains not currently possible with metagenomic data alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon G Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Weiwei Yan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Deus Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Center, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Elizabeth V Lonsdorf
- Department of Psychology and Biological Foundations of Behavior Program, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - John A Hart
- Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation, Tshuapa-Lomami-Lualaba Project, BP 2012, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | - Crickette M Sanz
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO, USA.,Wildlife Conservation Society, Congo Program, Brazzaville, B.P. 14537, Republic of Congo
| | - David B Morgan
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Martine Peeters
- Recherche Translationnelle Appliquée Au VIH Et Aux Maladies Infectieuses, Institut de Recherche Pour Le Développement, University of Montpellier, INSERM, 34090, Montpellier, France
| | - Beatrice H Hahn
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Andrew H Moeller
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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25
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Huisman JS, Vaughan TG, Egli A, Tschudin-Sutter S, Stadler T, Bonhoeffer S. The effect of sequencing and assembly on the inference of horizontal gene transfer on chromosomal and plasmid phylogenies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210245. [PMID: 35989605 PMCID: PMC9393563 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The spread of antibiotic resistance genes on plasmids is a threat to human and animal health. Phylogenies of bacteria and their plasmids contain clues regarding the frequency of plasmid transfer events, as well as the co-evolution of plasmids and their hosts. However, whole genome sequencing data from diverse ecological or clinical bacterial samples are rarely used to study plasmid phylogenies and resistance gene transfer. This is partially due to the difficulty of extracting plasmids from short-read sequencing data. Here, we use both short- and long-read sequencing data of 24 clinical extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli to estimate chromosomal and plasmid phylogenies. We compare the impact of different sequencing and assembly methodologies on these phylogenies and on the inference of horizontal gene transfer. We find that chromosomal phylogenies can be estimated robustly with all methods, whereas plasmid phylogenies have more variable topology and branch lengths across the methods used. Specifically, hybrid methods that use long reads to resolve short-read assemblies (HybridSPAdes and Unicycler) perform better than those that started from long reads during assembly graph generation (Canu). By contrast, the inference of plasmid and antibiotic resistance gene transfer using a parsimony-based criterion is mostly robust to the choice of sequencing and assembly method. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Genomic population structures of microbial pathogens’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana S Huisman
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Timothy G Vaughan
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Adrian Egli
- Division of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.,Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Sarah Tschudin-Sutter
- Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.,Department of Clinical Research, University of Basel, Schanzenstrasse 55, 4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tanja Stadler
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.,Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Bonhoeffer
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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26
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Pu L, Shamir R. 3CAC: improving the classification of phages and plasmids in metagenomic assemblies using assembly graphs. Bioinformatics 2022; 38:ii56-ii61. [PMID: 36124804 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Bacteriophages and plasmids usually coexist with their host bacteria in microbial communities and play important roles in microbial evolution. Accurately identifying sequence contigs as phages, plasmids and bacterial chromosomes in mixed metagenomic assemblies is critical for further unraveling their functions. Many classification tools have been developed for identifying either phages or plasmids in metagenomic assemblies. However, only two classifiers, PPR-Meta and viralVerify, were proposed to simultaneously identify phages and plasmids in mixed metagenomic assemblies. Due to the very high fraction of chromosome contigs in the assemblies, both tools achieve high precision in the classification of chromosomes but perform poorly in classifying phages and plasmids. Short contigs in these assemblies are often wrongly classified or classified as uncertain. RESULTS Here we present 3CAC, a new three-class classifier that improves the precision of phage and plasmid classification. 3CAC starts with an initial three-class classification generated by existing classifiers and improves the classification of short contigs and contigs with low confidence classification by using proximity in the assembly graph. Evaluation on simulated metagenomes and on real human gut microbiome samples showed that 3CAC outperformed PPR-Meta and viralVerify in both precision and recall, and increased F1-score by 10-60 percentage points. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The 3CAC software is available on https://github.com/Shamir-Lab/3CAC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lianrong Pu
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Ron Shamir
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
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27
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Sanderson H, Gray KL, Manuele A, Maguire F, Khan A, Liu C, Navanekere Rudrappa C, Nash JHE, Robertson J, Bessonov K, Oloni M, Alcock BP, Raphenya AR, McAllister TA, Peacock SJ, Raven KE, Gouliouris T, McArthur AG, Brinkman FSL, Fink RC, Zaheer R, Beiko RG. Exploring the mobilome and resistome of Enterococcus faecium in a One Health context across two continents. Microb Genom 2022; 8. [PMID: 36129737 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Enterococcus faecium is a ubiquitous opportunistic pathogen that is exhibiting increasing levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Many of the genes that confer resistance and pathogenic functions are localized on mobile genetic elements (MGEs), which facilitate their transfer between lineages. Here, features including resistance determinants, virulence factors and MGEs were profiled in a set of 1273 E. faecium genomes from two disparate geographic locations (in the UK and Canada) from a range of agricultural, clinical and associated habitats. Neither lineages of E. faecium, type A and B, nor MGEs are constrained by geographic proximity, but our results show evidence of a strong association of many profiled genes and MGEs with habitat. Many features were associated with a group of clinical and municipal wastewater genomes that are likely forming a new human-associated ecotype within type A. The evolutionary dynamics of E. faecium make it a highly versatile emerging pathogen, and its ability to acquire, transmit and lose features presents a high risk for the emergence of new pathogenic variants and novel resistance combinations. This study provides a workflow for MGE-centric surveillance of AMR in Enterococcus that can be adapted to other pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley Sanderson
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Kristen L Gray
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Colombia, Canada
| | - Alexander Manuele
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Finlay Maguire
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Amjad Khan
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Chaoyue Liu
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Chandana Navanekere Rudrappa
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - John H E Nash
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph and Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - James Robertson
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph and Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kyrylo Bessonov
- National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Guelph and Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Martins Oloni
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Brian P Alcock
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Amogelang R Raphenya
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Tim A McAllister
- Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Kathy E Raven
- Department of Medicine, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Andrew G McArthur
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.,David Braley Centre for Antibiotic Discovery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Fiona S L Brinkman
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Colombia, Canada
| | - Ryan C Fink
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Rahat Zaheer
- Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
| | - Robert G Beiko
- Faculty of Computer Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.,Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Nogle R, Nagaraju S, Utturkar SM, Giannone RJ, Reynoso V, Leang C, Hettich RL, Mitchell WP, Simpson SD, Jewett MC, Köpke M, Brown SD. Clostridium autoethanogenum isopropanol production via native plasmid pCA replicon. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:932363. [PMID: 36032736 PMCID: PMC9413188 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.932363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Clostridium autoethanogenum is a model gas-fermenting acetogen for commercial ethanol production. It is also a platform organism being developed for the carbon-negative production of acetone and isopropanol by gas fermentation. We have assembled a 5.5 kb pCA plasmid for type strain DSM10061 (JA1-1) using three genome sequence datasets. pCA is predicted to encode seven open-reading frames and estimated to be a low-copy number plasmid present at approximately 12 copies per chromosome. RNA-seq analyses indicate that pCA genes are transcribed at low levels and two proteins, CAETHG_05090 (putative replication protein) and CAETHG_05115 (hypothetical, a possible Mob protein), were detected at low levels during batch gas fermentations. Thiolase (thlA), CoA-transferase (ctfAB), and acetoacetate decarboxylase (adc) genes were introduced into a vector for isopropanol production in C. autoethanogenum using the native plasmid origin of replication. The availability of the pCA sequence will facilitate studies into its physiological role and could form the basis for genetic tool optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Sagar M. Utturkar
- Center for Cancer Research, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | | | - Steven D. Brown
- LanzaTech Inc., Skokie, IL, United States
- *Correspondence: Steven D. Brown,
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Cheng RA, Orsi RH, Wiedmann M. The Number and Type of Chaperone-Usher Fimbriae Reflect Phylogenetic Clade Rather than Host Range in Salmonella. mSystems 2022; 7:e0011522. [PMID: 35467401 PMCID: PMC9238391 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00115-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Salmonella is one of the most successful foodborne pathogens worldwide, owing in part to its ability to colonize or infect a wide range of hosts. Salmonella serovars are known to encode a variety of different fimbriae (hairlike organelles that facilitate binding to surfaces); however, the distribution, number, and sequence diversity of fimbriae encoded across different lineages of Salmonella were unknown. We queried whole-genome sequence (WGS) data for 242 Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (subspecies enterica) isolates from the top 217 serovars associated with isolation from humans and agricultural animals; this effort identified 2,894 chaperone-usher (CU)-type fimbrial usher sequences, representing the most conserved component of CU fimbriae. On average, isolates encoded 12 different CU fimbrial ushers (6 to 18 per genome), although the distribution varied significantly (P = 1.328E-08) by phylogenetic clade, with isolates in section Typhi having significantly fewer fimbrial ushers than isolates in clade A2 (medians = 10 and 12 ushers, respectively). Characterization of fimbriae in additional non-enterica subspecies genomes suggested that 8 fimbrial ushers were classified as being unique to subspecies enterica isolates, suggesting that the majority of fimbriae were most likely acquired prior to the divergence of subspecies enterica. Characterization of mobile elements suggested that plasmids represent an important vehicle facilitating the acquisition of a wide range of fimbrial ushers, particularly for the acquisition of fimbriae from other Gram-negative genera. Overall, our results suggest that differences in the number and type of fimbriae encoded most likely reflect differences in phylogenetic clade rather than differences in host range. IMPORTANCE Fimbriae of the CU assembly pathway represent important organelles that mediate Salmonella's interactions with host tissues and abiotic surfaces. Our analyses provide a comprehensive overview of the diversity of CU fimbriae in Salmonella spp., highlighting that the majority of CU fimbriae are distributed broadly across multiple subspecies and suggesting that acquisition most likely occurred prior to the divergence of subspecies enterica. Our data also suggest that plasmids represent the primary vehicles facilitating the horizontal transfer of diverse CU fimbriae in Salmonella. Finally, the observed high sequence similarity between some ushers suggests that different names may have been assigned to closely related fimbrial ushers that likely should be represented by a single designation. This highlights the need to establish standard criteria for fimbria classification and nomenclature, which will also facilitate future studies seeking to associate virulence factors with adaptation to or differences in the likelihood of causing disease in a given host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Cheng
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Renato H. Orsi
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Martin Wiedmann
- Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
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30
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Favale N, Costa S, Scapoli C, Carrieri A, Sabbioni S, Tamburini E, Benazzo A, Bernacchia G. Reconstruction of Acinetobacter johnsonii ICE_NC genome using hybrid de novo genome assemblies and identification of the 12α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene. J Appl Microbiol 2022; 133:1506-1519. [PMID: 35686660 PMCID: PMC9540589 DOI: 10.1111/jam.15657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The role of a Acinetobacter johnsonii strain, isolated from a soil sample, in the biotransformation of bile acids (BAs) was already described but the enzymes responsible for these transformations were only partially purified and molecularly characterized. METHODS AND RESULTS This study describes the use of hybrid de novo assemblies, that combine long-read Oxford Nanopore and short-read Illumina sequencing strategies, to reconstruct the entire genome of A. johnsonii ICE_NC strain and to identify the coding region for a 12α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (12α-HSDH), involved in BAs metabolism. The de novo assembly of the A. johnsonii ICE_NC genome was generated using Canu and Unicycler, both strategies yielded a circular chromosome of about 3.6 Mb and one 117 kb long plasmid. Gene annotation was performed on the final assemblies and the gene for 12α-HSDH was detected on the plasmid. CONCLUSIONS Our findings illustrate the added value of long read sequencing in addressing the challenges of whole genome characterization and plasmid reconstruction in bacteria. These approaches also allowed the identification of the A. johnsonii ICE_NC gene for the 12α-HSDH enzyme, whose activity was confirmed at the biochemical level. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OR THE STUDY At present, this is the first report on the characterization of a 12α-HSDH gene in an A. johnsonii strain able to biotransform cholic acid into ursodeoxycholic acid, a promising therapeutic agent for several diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicoletta Favale
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Stefania Costa
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.,Department of Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Chiara Scapoli
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Alberto Carrieri
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Silvia Sabbioni
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Elena Tamburini
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Prevention, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Andrea Benazzo
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bernacchia
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
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31
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Hennequin C, Forestier C, Traore O, Debroas D, Bricheux G. Plasmidome analysis of a hospital effluent biofilm: Status of antibiotic resistance. Plasmid 2022; 122:102638. [PMID: 35691511 DOI: 10.1016/j.plasmid.2022.102638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Plasmids are widely involved in the dissemination of characteristics within bacterial communities. Their genomic content can be assessed by high-throughput sequencing of the whole plasmid fraction of an environment, the plasmidome. In this study, we analyzed the plasmidome of a biofilm formed in the effluents of the teaching hospital of Clermont-Ferrand (France). Our analysis discovered >350 new complete plasmids, with a length ranging from 1219 to 40,193 bp. Forty-two plasmid incompatibility (Inc) groups were found among all the plasmid contigs. Ten large plasmids, described here in detail, were reconstructed from plasmid contigs, seven of which carried antibiotic resistance genes. Four plasmids potentially confer resistance to numerous families of antibiotics, including carbapenems, aminoglycosides, colistin, and chloramphenicol. Most of these plasmids were affiliated to Proteobacteria, a phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. This study therefore illustrates the composition of an environmental mixed biofilm in terms of plasmids and antibiotic resistance genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Hennequin
- CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Service de Bactériologie Clinique, 58 rue Montalembert, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Campus Universitaire des Cézeaux, TSA 60026 - CS 60026, 1, impasse Amélie Murat, 63178 Aubière, France
| | - Christiane Forestier
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Ousmane Traore
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Didier Debroas
- Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Campus Universitaire des Cézeaux, TSA 60026 - CS 60026, 1, impasse Amélie Murat, 63178 Aubière, France
| | - Geneviève Bricheux
- Laboratoire Microorganismes: Génome et Environnement, Campus Universitaire des Cézeaux, TSA 60026 - CS 60026, 1, impasse Amélie Murat, 63178 Aubière, France.
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32
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Machine Learning for Antimicrobial Resistance Prediction: Current Practice, Limitations, and Clinical Perspective. Clin Microbiol Rev 2022; 35:e0017921. [PMID: 35612324 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00179-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health crisis that poses a great threat to modern medicine. Effective prevention strategies are urgently required to slow the emergence and further dissemination of AMR. Given the availability of data sets encompassing hundreds or thousands of pathogen genomes, machine learning (ML) is increasingly being used to predict resistance to different antibiotics in pathogens based on gene content and genome composition. A key objective of this work is to advocate for the incorporation of ML into front-line settings but also highlight the further refinements that are necessary to safely and confidently incorporate these methods. The question of what to predict is not trivial given the existence of different quantitative and qualitative laboratory measures of AMR. ML models typically treat genes as independent predictors, with no consideration of structural and functional linkages; they also may not be accurate when new mutational variants of known AMR genes emerge. Finally, to have the technology trusted by end users in public health settings, ML models need to be transparent and explainable to ensure that the basis for prediction is clear. We strongly advocate that the next set of AMR-ML studies should focus on the refinement of these limitations to be able to bridge the gap to diagnostic implementation.
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33
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Bessarab I, Maszenan AM, Haryono MAS, Arumugam K, Saw NMMT, Seviour RJ, Williams RBH. Comparative Genomics of Members of the Genus Defluviicoccus With Insights Into Their Ecophysiological Importance. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:834906. [PMID: 35495637 PMCID: PMC9041414 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.834906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of the genus Defluviicoccus occur often at high abundances in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants designed to remove phosphorus, where biomass is subjected to alternating anaerobic feed/aerobic famine conditions, believed to favor the proliferation of organisms like Ca. Accumulibacter and other phosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO), and Defluviicoccus. All have a capacity to assimilate readily metabolizable substrates and store them intracellularly during the anaerobic feed stage so that under the subsequent famine aerobic stage, these can be used to synthesize polyphosphate reserves by the PAO and glycogen by Defluviicoccus. Consequently, Defluviicoccus is described as a glycogen-accumulating organism or GAO. Because they share a similar anaerobic phenotype, it has been proposed that at high Defluviicoccus abundance, the PAO are out-competed for assimilable metabolites anaerobically, and hence aerobic P removal capacity is reduced. Several Defluviicoccus whole genome sequences have been published (Ca. Defluviicoccus tetraformis, Defluviicoccus GAO-HK, and Ca. Defluviicoccus seviourii). The available genomic data of these suggest marked metabolic differences between them, some of which have ecophysiological implications. Here, we describe the whole genome sequence of the type strain Defluviicoccus vanusT, the only cultured member of this genus, and a detailed comparative re-examination of all extant Defluviicoccus genomes. Each, with one exception, which appears not to be a member of this genus, contains the genes expected of GAO members, in possessing multiple copies of those for glycogen biosynthesis and catabolism, and anaerobic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthesis. Both 16S rRNA and genome sequence data suggest that the current recognition of four clades is insufficient to embrace their phylogenetic biodiversity, but do not support the view that they should be re-classified into families other than their existing location in the Rhodospirillaceae. As expected, considerable variations were seen in the presence and numbers of genes encoding properties associated with key substrate assimilation and metabolic pathways. Two genomes also carried the pit gene for synthesis of the low-affinity phosphate transport protein, pit, considered by many to distinguish all PAO from GAO. The data re-emphasize the risks associated with extrapolating the data generated from a single Defluviicoccus population to embrace all members of that genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Bessarab
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Abdul Majid Maszenan
- Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,NUS Environmental Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mindia A S Haryono
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Krithika Arumugam
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nay Min Min Thaw Saw
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Robert J Seviour
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Rohan B H Williams
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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Montelongo Hernandez C, Putonti C, Wolfe AJ. Profiling the plasmid conjugation potential of urinary Escherichia coli. Microb Genom 2022; 8:mgen000814. [PMID: 35536743 PMCID: PMC9465074 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Escherichia coli is often associated with urinary tract infection (UTI). Antibiotic resistance in E. coli is an ongoing challenge in managing UTI. Extrachromosomal elements - plasmids - are vectors for clinically relevant traits, such as antibiotic resistance, with conjugation being one of the main methods for horizontal propagation of plasmids in bacterial populations. Targeting of conjugation components has been proposed as a strategy to curb the spread of plasmid-borne antibiotic resistance. Understanding the types of conjugative systems present in urinary E. coli isolates is fundamental to assessing the viability of this strategy. In this study, we profile two well-studied conjugation systems (F-type and P-type) in the draft genomes of 65 urinary isolates of E. coli obtained from the bladder urine of adult women with and without UTI-like symptoms. Most of these isolates contained plasmids and we found that conjugation genes were abundant/ubiquitous, diverse and often associated with IncF plasmids. To validate conjugation of these urinary plasmids, the plasmids from two urinary isolates, UMB1223 (predicted to have F-type genes) and UMB1284 (predicted to have P-type genes), were transferred by conjugation into the K-12 E. coli strain MG1655. Overall, the findings of this study support the notion that care should be taken in targeting any individual component of a urinary E. coli isolate's conjugation system, given the inherent mechanistic redundancy, gene diversity and different types of conjugation systems in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar Montelongo Hernandez
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
| | - Catherine Putonti
- Bioinformatics Program, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Alan J. Wolfe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, IL 60153, USA
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35
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Simultaneous Hospital Outbreaks of New Delhi Metallo-β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales Unraveled Using Whole-Genome Sequencing. Microbiol Spectr 2022; 10:e0228721. [PMID: 35311539 PMCID: PMC9045244 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02287-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales, including carbapenemase producers, are currently spreading in health care facilities and the community. The Bichat Claude Bernard hospital in Paris faced a prolonged NDM-producing Enterobacterales (NDM-CPE) outbreak. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed on all isolated NDM-CPE to evaluate its benefits for outbreak surveillance and comprehension. All NDM-CPE isolates collected during the outbreak period (August 2016 to January 2018) were sequenced using the Illumina NextSeq platform. Gene content and core genomes were compared. Genomics results underwent epidemiological analysis which classified NDM-CPE cases as imported (positive sample during the 48 h after admission), hospital acquired, or uncertain. Over the epidemic period, 61 patients were colonized or infected with 81 distinct NDM-CPE isolates. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common species (n = 52, 64%), followed by Escherichia coli (13.5%) and other species (22.5%). In all, 43/52 (83%) K. pneumoniae isolates were clonal (≤18 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs] except for three isolates) and belonged to ST307. The IncFIIK [K2:A-/B-] plasmid carrying blaNDM-1 present in all ST307 K. pneumoniae isolates was also detected in 18 other NDM-CPE isolates. Additionally, eight clonal ST144 Klebsiella oxytoca (≤18 SNPs) isolates lacking the epidemic plasmid were observed. The WGS analyses confirmed the acquired and imported cases except for two patients and resolved uncertain cases, which all turned out to be hospital acquisitions. WGS coupled with epidemiological analysis unraveled three epidemic phenomena: mainly the spread of a clonal ST307 K. pneumoniae strain and its conjugative plasmid carrying blaNDM-1 but also the unexpected clonal spread of an ST144 K. oxytoca strain. IMPORTANCE Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) can spread and cause outbreaks in health care facilities, resulting in increased lengths of stay and morbidity. Control of outbreaks requires epidemiological surveillance, usually based on microbiological screening and patient follow-up. These data are sometimes insufficient to identify the routes of dissemination. There is therefore a need for more accurate tools such as whole-genome sequencing (WGS), which allows comparison of isolates but also plasmids carrying resistance with a high definition. In this work, we retrospectively sequenced the genomes of all NDM-producing Enterobacterales isolated during a prolonged NDM outbreak in our hospital. We demonstrated the value of combining WGS with epidemiological data that unveiled the multiple mechanisms of dissemination involved in the outbreak and confirmed transmission cases. This work reinforces the potential of WGS in outbreak surveillance and suggests that it could improve outbreak control if used in real time by confirming transmission cases more rapidly.
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Peirano G, Chen L, Nobrega D, Finn TJ, Kreiswirth BN, DeVinney R, Pitout JDD. Genomic Epidemiology of Global Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli, 2015-2017. Emerg Infect Dis 2022; 28. [PMID: 35451367 PMCID: PMC9045447 DOI: 10.3201/eid2805.212535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe the global molecular epidemiology of 229 carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli in 36 countries during 2015-2017. Common carbapenemases were oxacillinase (OXA) 181 (23%), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) 5 (20%), OXA-48 (17%), Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase 2 (15%), and NDM-1 (10%). We identified 5 dominant sequence types (STs); 4 were global (ST410, ST131, ST167, and ST405), and 1 (ST1284) was limited to Turkey. OXA-181 was frequent in Jordan (because of the ST410-B4/H24RxC subclade) and Turkey (because of ST1284). We found nearly identical IncX3-blaOXA-181 plasmids among 11 STs from 12 countries. NDM-5 was frequent in Egypt, Thailand (linked with ST410-B4/H24RxC and ST167-B subclades), and Vietnam (because of ST448). OXA-48 was common in Turkey (linked with ST11260). Global K. pneumoniae carbapenemases were linked with ST131 C1/H30 subclade and NDM-1 with various STs. The global carbapenemase E. coli population is dominated by diverse STs with different characteristics and varied geographic distributions, requiring ongoing genomic surveillance.
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37
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Shalon N, Relman DA, Yaffe E. Precise genotyping of circular mobile elements from metagenomic data uncovers human-associated plasmids with recent common ancestors. Genome Res 2022; 32:986-1003. [PMID: 35414589 PMCID: PMC9104695 DOI: 10.1101/gr.275894.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Mobile genetic elements with circular genomes play a key role in the evolution of microbial communities. Their circular genomes correspond to circular walks in metagenome graphs, and yet, assemblies derived from natural microbial communities produce graphs riddled with spurious cycles, complicating the accurate reconstruction of circular genomes. We present DomCycle, an algorithm that reconstructs likely circular genomes based on the identification of so-called 'dominant' graph cycles. In the implementation we leverage paired reads to bridge assembly gaps and scrutinize cycles through a nucleotide-level analysis, making the approach robust to misassembly artifacts. We validated the approach using simulated and real sequencing data. Application of DomCycle to 32 publicly available DNA shotgun sequence data sets from diverse natural environments led to the reconstruction of hundreds of circular mobile genomes. Clustering revealed 20 highly prevalent and cryptic plasmids that have clonal population structures with recent common ancestors. This method facilitates the study of microbial communities that evolve through horizontal gene transfer.
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38
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Mercato A, Cortimiglia C, Abualsha’ar A, Piazza A, Marchesini F, Milani G, Bonardi S, Cocconcelli PS, Migliavacca R. Wild Boars as an Indicator of Environmental Spread of ESβL-Producing Escherichia coli. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:838383. [PMID: 35432265 PMCID: PMC9011151 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.838383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents an increasing issue worldwide, spreading not only in humans and farmed animals but also in wildlife. One of the most relevant problems is represented by Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESβLs) producing Escherichia coli because they are the cause of important infections in human. Wild boars (Sus scrofa) as a source of ESβLs attracted attention due to their increasing density and their habits that lead them to be at the human-livestock-wildlife interface. The aim of this study was to increase the knowledge about the ESβLs E. coli strains carried by wild boars living in a particularly high-density area of Northern Italy. The analysis of 60 animals allowed to isolate 16 ESβL-producing E. coli strains (prevalence 23.3%), which were characterised from a phenotypical and molecular point of view. The overall analysis revealed that the 16 isolates were all not only ESβL producers but also multidrug resistant and carried different types of plasmid replicons. The genome analysis performed on a subset of isolates confirmed the heterogeneity observed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and highlighted the presence of two pandemic sequence types, ST131 and ST10, with different collections of virulence factors. The genomic context of ESβL genes further evidenced that all of them were surrounded by transposons and insertion sequences, suggesting the possibility to exchange AMR genes. Overall, this study shows the worrying dissemination of ESβL-producing E. coli in wild boars in Northern Italy, suggesting the role of these animals as a spreader of AMR and their inclusion in surveillance programmes, to shed light on the “One Health” complex interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Mercato
- Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Unit of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Claudia Cortimiglia
- Department for Sustainable Food Processes, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Aseel Abualsha’ar
- Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Unit of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Aurora Piazza
- Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Unit of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Federica Marchesini
- Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Unit of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giovanni Milani
- Department for Sustainable Food Processes, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
| | - Silvia Bonardi
- Department of Veterinary Science, Unit of Food Inspection, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Pier Sandro Cocconcelli
- Department for Sustainable Food Processes, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy
- *Correspondence: Pier Sandro Cocconcelli,
| | - Roberta Migliavacca
- Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Unit of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Petrillo M, Fabbri M, Kagkli DM, Querci M, Van den Eede G, Alm E, Aytan-Aktug D, Capella-Gutierrez S, Carrillo C, Cestaro A, Chan KG, Coque T, Endrullat C, Gut I, Hammer P, Kay GL, Madec JY, Mather AE, McHardy AC, Naas T, Paracchini V, Peter S, Pightling A, Raffael B, Rossen J, Ruppé E, Schlaberg R, Vanneste K, Weber LM, Westh H, Angers-Loustau A. A roadmap for the generation of benchmarking resources for antimicrobial resistance detection using next generation sequencing. F1000Res 2022; 10:80. [PMID: 35847383 PMCID: PMC9243550 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.39214.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Next Generation Sequencing technologies significantly impact the field of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) detection and monitoring, with immediate uses in diagnosis and risk assessment. For this application and in general, considerable challenges remain in demonstrating sufficient trust to act upon the meaningful information produced from raw data, partly because of the reliance on bioinformatics pipelines, which can produce different results and therefore lead to different interpretations. With the constant evolution of the field, it is difficult to identify, harmonise and recommend specific methods for large-scale implementations over time. In this article, we propose to address this challenge through establishing a transparent, performance-based, evaluation approach to provide flexibility in the bioinformatics tools of choice, while demonstrating proficiency in meeting common performance standards. The approach is two-fold: first, a community-driven effort to establish and maintain “live” (dynamic) benchmarking platforms to provide relevant performance metrics, based on different use-cases, that would evolve together with the AMR field; second, agreed and defined datasets to allow the pipelines’ implementation, validation, and quality-control over time. Following previous discussions on the main challenges linked to this approach, we provide concrete recommendations and future steps, related to different aspects of the design of benchmarks, such as the selection and the characteristics of the datasets (quality, choice of pathogens and resistances, etc.), the evaluation criteria of the pipelines, and the way these resources should be deployed in the community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marco Fabbri
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
| | | | | | - Guy Van den Eede
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
- European Commission Joint Research Centre, Geel, Belgium
| | - Erik Alm
- The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Derya Aytan-Aktug
- National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Catherine Carrillo
- Ottawa Laboratory – Carling, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Kok-Gan Chan
- International Genome Centre, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- Division of Genetics and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Teresa Coque
- Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS), Madrid, Spain
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Carlos III Health Institute, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ivo Gut
- Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico, Centre for Genomic Regulation (CNAG-CRG), Barcelona Institute of Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Paul Hammer
- BIOMES. NGS GmbH c/o Technische Hochschule Wildau, Wildau, Germany
| | - Gemma L. Kay
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | - Jean-Yves Madec
- Unité Antibiorésistance et Virulence Bactériennes, ANSES Site de Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Alison E. Mather
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
- University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Thierry Naas
- French-NRC for CPEs, Service de Bactériologie-Hygiène, Hôpital de Bicêtre, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France
| | | | - Silke Peter
- Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Arthur Pightling
- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD, USA
| | | | - John Rossen
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Robert Schlaberg
- Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Kevin Vanneste
- Transversal activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Lukas M. Weber
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Present address: Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Thomson NM, Gilroy R, Getino M, Foster-Nyarko E, van Vliet AH, La Ragione RM, Pallen MJ. Remarkable genomic diversity among Escherichia isolates recovered from healthy chickens. PeerJ 2022; 10:e12935. [PMID: 35251780 PMCID: PMC8896058 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The genus Escherichia has been extensively studied and it is known to encompass a range of commensal and pathogenic bacteria that primarily inhabit the gastrointestinal tracts of warm-blooded vertebrates. However, the presence of E. coli as a model organism and potential pathogen has diverted attention away from commensal strains and other species in the genus. To investigate the diversity of Escherichia in healthy chickens, we collected fecal samples from antibiotic-free Lohmann Brown layer hens and determined the genome sequences of 100 isolates, 81 of which were indistinguishable at the HC0 level of the Hierarchical Clustering of Core Genome Multi-Locus Sequence Typing scheme. Despite initial selection on CHROMagar Orientation medium, which is considered selective for E. coli, in silico phylotyping and core genome single nucleotide polymorphism analysis revealed the presence of at least one representative of all major clades of Escherichia, except for E. albertii, Shigella, and E. coli phylogroup B2 and cryptic clade I. The most frequent phylogenomic groups were E. coli phylogroups A and B1 and E. ruysiae (clades III and IV). We compiled a collection of reference strains isolated from avian sources (predominantly chicken), representing every Escherichia phylogroup and species, and used it to confirm the phylogeny and diversity of our isolates. Overall, the isolates carried low numbers of the virulence and antibiotic resistance genes typically seen in avian pathogenic E. coli. Notably, the clades not recovered are ones that have been most strongly associated with virulence by other studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Rachel Gilroy
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
| | - Maria Getino
- NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom,Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom,Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Arnoud H.M. van Vliet
- Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Roberto M. La Ragione
- Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom,Department of Microbial Sciences, School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
| | - Mark J. Pallen
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom,Department of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom,School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
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41
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Waddington C, Carey ME, Boinett CJ, Higginson E, Veeraraghavan B, Baker S. Exploiting genomics to mitigate the public health impact of antimicrobial resistance. Genome Med 2022; 14:15. [PMID: 35172877 PMCID: PMC8849018 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-022-01020-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health threat, which has been largely driven by the excessive use of antimicrobials. Control measures are urgently needed to slow the trajectory of AMR but are hampered by an incomplete understanding of the interplay between pathogens, AMR encoding genes, and mobile genetic elements at a microbial level. These factors, combined with the human, animal, and environmental interactions that underlie AMR dissemination at a population level, make for a highly complex landscape. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and, more recently, metagenomic analyses have greatly enhanced our understanding of these processes, and these approaches are informing mitigation strategies for how we better understand and control AMR. This review explores how WGS techniques have advanced global, national, and local AMR surveillance, and how this improved understanding is being applied to inform solutions, such as novel diagnostic methods that allow antimicrobial use to be optimised and vaccination strategies for better controlling AMR. We highlight some future opportunities for AMR control informed by genomic sequencing, along with the remaining challenges that must be overcome to fully realise the potential of WGS approaches for international AMR control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Waddington
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK.,Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Megan E Carey
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK.,Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Ellen Higginson
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK.,Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Balaji Veeraraghavan
- Department of Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Stephen Baker
- Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0AW, UK. .,Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK.
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Ben Khedher M, Ghedira K, Rolain JM, Ruimy R, Croce O. Application and Challenge of 3rd Generation Sequencing for Clinical Bacterial Studies. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:1395. [PMID: 35163319 PMCID: PMC8835973 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the past 25 years, the powerful combination of genome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis has played a crucial role in interpreting information encoded in bacterial genomes. High-throughput sequencing technologies have paved the way towards understanding an increasingly wide range of biological questions. This revolution has enabled advances in areas ranging from genome composition to how proteins interact with nucleic acids. This has created unprecedented opportunities through the integration of genomic data into clinics for the diagnosis of genetic traits associated with disease. Since then, these technologies have continued to evolve, and recently, long-read sequencing has overcome previous limitations in terms of accuracy, thus expanding its applications in genomics, transcriptomics and metagenomics. In this review, we describe a brief history of the bacterial genome sequencing revolution and its application in public health and molecular epidemiology. We present a chronology that encompasses the various technological developments: whole-genome shotgun sequencing, high-throughput sequencing, long-read sequencing. We mainly discuss the application of next-generation sequencing to decipher bacterial genomes. Secondly, we highlight how long-read sequencing technologies go beyond the limitations of traditional short-read sequencing. We intend to provide a description of the guiding principles of the 3rd generation sequencing applications and ongoing improvements in the field of microbial medical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariem Ben Khedher
- Bacteriology Laboratory, Archet 2 Hospital, CHU Nice, 06000 Nice, France
- Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging Nice (IRCAN), CNRS, INSERM, Université Côte d’Azur, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Kais Ghedira
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Biomathematics and Biostatistics, Institute Pasteur of Tunis, Tunis 1002, Tunisia;
| | - Jean-Marc Rolain
- IRD, APHM, MEPHI, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille Université, 13005 Marseille, France;
| | - Raymond Ruimy
- Bacteriology Laboratory, Archet 2 Hospital, CHU Nice, 06000 Nice, France
- Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire (C3M), INSERM, Université Côte D’Azur, 06108 Nice, France
| | - Olivier Croce
- Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging Nice (IRCAN), CNRS, INSERM, Université Côte d’Azur, 06108 Nice, France
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Li IC, Yu GY, Huang JF, Chen ZW, Chou CH. Comparison of Reference-Based Assembly and De Novo Assembly for Bacterial Plasmid Reconstruction and AMR Gene Localization in Salmonella enterica Serovar Schwarzengrund Isolates. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020227. [PMID: 35208682 PMCID: PMC8874696 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that plasmids carrying multiple antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes can be easily transferred among bacterial isolates by horizontal gene transfer. Previous studies have shown that a combination of short- and long-read approaches is effective in reconstructing accurate plasmids. However, high-quality Illumina short reads mapped onto the long reads in the context of an AMR hybrid monitoring strategy have not yet been explored. Hence, this study aimed to improve the reconstruction of plasmids, including the localization of AMR genes, using the above-described parameters on whole-genome sequencing (WGS) results. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use S1 nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (S1-PFGE) to confirm the number and sizes of plasmids detected by in silico-based predictions in Salmonella strains. Our results showed that de novo assembly did not detect the number of bacterial plasmids more accurately than reference-based assembly did. As this new hybrid mapping strategy surpassed de novo assembly in bacterial reconstruction, it was further used to identify the presence and genomic location of AMR genes among three Salmonella enterica serovar Schwarzengrund isolates. The AMR genes identified in the bacterial chromosome among the three Salmonella enterica serovar Schwarzengrund isolates included: AAC(3)-IV, AAC(6′)-Iy, aadA2, APH(4)-Ia, cmlA1, golS, mdsA, mdsB, mdsC, mdtK, qacH, sdiA, sul2, sul3, and TEM-1 genes. Moreover, the presence of TEM-1, AAC(3)-IV, aadA2, APH(4)-Ia, cmlA1, dfrA12, floR, sul1, sul3, and tet(A) genes found within three IncFIB plasmids and one IncX1 plasmid highlight their possible transmission into the environment, which is a public health risk. In conclusion, the generated data using this new hybrid mapping strategy will contribute to the improvement of AMR monitoring and support the risk assessment of AMR dissemination.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Chen Li
- Zoonoses Research Center and School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei City 106, Taiwan;
| | - Gine-Ye Yu
- Animal Technology Research Center, Agricultural Technology Research Institute, No. 52, Kedong 2nd Rd., Zhunan Township, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan; (G.-Y.Y.); (J.-F.H.)
| | - Jing-Fang Huang
- Animal Technology Research Center, Agricultural Technology Research Institute, No. 52, Kedong 2nd Rd., Zhunan Township, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan; (G.-Y.Y.); (J.-F.H.)
| | - Zeng-Weng Chen
- Animal Technology Research Center, Agricultural Technology Research Institute, No. 52, Kedong 2nd Rd., Zhunan Township, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan; (G.-Y.Y.); (J.-F.H.)
- Correspondence: (Z.-W.C.); (C.-H.C.); Tel.: +886-37-585-851 (Z.-W.C.); +886-2-3366-3861 (C.-H.C.); Fax: +886-2-2364-9154 (C.-H.C.)
| | - Chung-Hsi Chou
- Zoonoses Research Center and School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei City 106, Taiwan;
- Correspondence: (Z.-W.C.); (C.-H.C.); Tel.: +886-37-585-851 (Z.-W.C.); +886-2-3366-3861 (C.-H.C.); Fax: +886-2-2364-9154 (C.-H.C.)
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Igler C, Huisman JS, Siedentop B, Bonhoeffer S, Lehtinen S. Plasmid co-infection: linking biological mechanisms to ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200478. [PMID: 34839701 PMCID: PMC8628072 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
As infectious agents of bacteria and vehicles of horizontal gene transfer, plasmids play a key role in bacterial ecology and evolution. Plasmid dynamics are shaped not only by plasmid-host interactions but also by ecological interactions between plasmid variants. These interactions are complex: plasmids can co-infect the same cell and the consequences for the co-resident plasmid can be either beneficial or detrimental. Many of the biological processes that govern plasmid co-infection-from systems that exclude infection by other plasmids to interactions in the regulation of plasmid copy number-are well characterized at a mechanistic level. Modelling plays a central role in translating such mechanistic insights into predictions about plasmid dynamics and the impact of these dynamics on bacterial evolution. Theoretical work in evolutionary epidemiology has shown that formulating models of co-infection is not trivial, as some modelling choices can introduce unintended ecological assumptions. Here, we review how the biological processes that govern co-infection can be represented in a mathematical model, discuss potential modelling pitfalls, and analyse this model to provide general insights into how co-infection impacts ecological and evolutionary outcomes. In particular, we demonstrate how beneficial and detrimental effects of co-infection give rise to frequency-dependent selection on plasmid variants. This article is part of the theme issue 'The secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Igler
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jana S. Huisman
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Berit Siedentop
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian Bonhoeffer
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sonja Lehtinen
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Pursey E, Dimitriu T, Paganelli FL, Westra ER, van Houte S. CRISPR-Cas is associated with fewer antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial pathogens. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200464. [PMID: 34839714 PMCID: PMC8628084 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of antibiotic resistance (ABR) genes via horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a key driver of the rise in multidrug resistance amongst bacterial pathogens. Bacterial defence systems per definition restrict the influx of foreign genetic material, and may therefore limit the acquisition of ABR. CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune systems are one of the most prevalent defences in bacteria, found in roughly half of bacterial genomes, but it has remained unclear if and how much they contribute to restricting the spread of ABR. We analysed approximately 40 000 whole genomes comprising the full RefSeq dataset for 11 species of clinically important genera of human pathogens, including Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas. We modelled the association between CRISPR-Cas and indicators of HGT, and found that pathogens with a CRISPR-Cas system were less likely to carry ABR genes than those lacking this defence system. Analysis of the mobile genetic elements (MGEs) targeted by CRISPR-Cas supports a model where this host defence system blocks important vectors of ABR. These results suggest a potential 'immunocompromised' state for multidrug-resistant strains that may be exploited in tailored interventions that rely on MGEs, such as phages or phagemids, to treat infections caused by bacterial pathogens. This article is part of the theme issue 'The secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Pursey
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Tatiana Dimitriu
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Fernanda L. Paganelli
- Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Edze R. Westra
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Stineke van Houte
- Environment and Sustainability Institute, Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
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Montelongo Hernandez C, Putonti C, Wolfe AJ. Characterizing Plasmids in Bacteria Species Relevant to Urinary Health. Microbiol Spectr 2021; 9:e0094221. [PMID: 34937183 PMCID: PMC8694116 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00942-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The urinary tract has a microbial community (the urinary microbiota or urobiota) that has been associated with human health. Whole genome sequencing of bacteria is a powerful tool, allowing investigation of the genomic content of the urobiota, also called the urinary microbiome (urobiome). Bacterial plasmids are a significant component of the urobiome yet are understudied. Because plasmids can be vectors and reservoirs for clinically relevant traits, they are important for urobiota dynamics and thus may have relevance to urinary health. In this project, we sought plasmids in 11 clinically relevant urinary species: Aerococcus urinae, Corynebacterium amycolatum, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Gardnerella vaginalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lactobacillus jensenii, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus anginosus, and Streptococcus mitis. We found evidence of plasmids in E. faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. epidermidis, and S. anginosus but insufficient evidence in other species sequenced thus far. Some identified plasmidic assemblies were predicted to have putative virulence and/or antibiotic resistance genes, although the majority of their annotated coding regions were of unknown predicted function. In this study, we report on plasmids from urinary species as a first step to understanding the role of plasmids in the bacterial urobiota. IMPORTANCE The microbial community of the urinary tract (urobiota) has been associated with human health. Whole genome sequencing of bacteria permits examination of urobiota genomes, including plasmids. Because plasmids are vectors and reservoirs for clinically relevant traits, they are important for urobiota dynamics and thus may have relevance to urinary health. Currently, urobiota plasmids are understudied. Here, we sought plasmids in 11 clinically relevant urinary species. We found evidence of plasmids in E. faecalis, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, S. epidermidis, and S. anginosus but insufficient evidence in the other 6 species. We identified putative virulence and/or antibiotic resistance genes in some of the plasmidic assemblies, but most of their annotated coding regions were of unknown function. This is a first step to understanding the role of plasmids in the bacterial urobiota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cesar Montelongo Hernandez
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA
| | - Catherine Putonti
- Bioinformatics Program, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Alan J. Wolfe
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA
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Arredondo-Alonso S, Pöntinen AK, Cléon F, Gladstone RA, Schürch AC, Johnsen PJ, Samuelsen Ø, Corander J. A high-throughput multiplexing and selection strategy to complete bacterial genomes. Gigascience 2021; 10:giab079. [PMID: 34891160 PMCID: PMC8673558 DOI: 10.1093/gigascience/giab079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bacterial whole-genome sequencing based on short-read technologies often results in a draft assembly formed by contiguous sequences. The introduction of long-read sequencing technologies permits those contiguous sequences to be unambiguously bridged into complete genomes. However, the elevated costs associated with long-read sequencing frequently limit the number of bacterial isolates that can be long-read sequenced. Here we evaluated the recently released 96 barcoding kit from Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) to generate complete genomes on a high-throughput basis. In addition, we propose an isolate selection strategy that optimizes a representative selection of isolates for long-read sequencing considering as input large-scale bacterial collections. RESULTS Despite an uneven distribution of long reads per barcode, near-complete chromosomal sequences (assembly contiguity = 0.89) were generated for 96 Escherichia coli isolates with associated short-read sequencing data. The assembly contiguity of the plasmid replicons was even higher (0.98), which indicated the suitability of the multiplexing strategy for studies focused on resolving plasmid sequences. We benchmarked hybrid and ONT-only assemblies and showed that the combination of ONT sequencing data with short-read sequencing data is still highly desirable (i) to perform an unbiased selection of isolates for long-read sequencing, (ii) to achieve an optimal genome accuracy and completeness, and (iii) to include small plasmids underrepresented in the ONT library. CONCLUSIONS The proposed long-read isolate selection ensures the completion of bacterial genomes that span the genome diversity inherent in large collections of bacterial isolates. We show the potential of using this multiplexing approach to close bacterial genomes on a high-throughput basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Arredondo-Alonso
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, 0317, Oslo, Norway
- Parasites and Microbes, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridgeshire CB10 1RQ, UK
| | - Anna K Pöntinen
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, 0317, Oslo, Norway
| | - François Cléon
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | | | - Anita C Schürch
- Department of Medical Microbiology, UMC Utrecht, 3584 CX, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Pål J Johnsen
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Ørjan Samuelsen
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway
- Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance, Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, University Hospital of North Norway, 9038, Tromsø, Norway
| | - Jukka Corander
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Oslo, 0317, Oslo, Norway
- Parasites and Microbes, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridgeshire CB10 1RQ, UK
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Helsinki Institute of Information Technology (HIIT), FI-00014 University of Helsinki, 02130, Espoo, Helsinki, Finland
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Bohr LL, Youngblom MA, Eldholm V, Pepperell CS. Genome reorganization during emergence of host-associated Mycobacterium abscessus. Microb Genom 2021; 7. [PMID: 34874249 PMCID: PMC8767326 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapid growing, free-living species of bacterium that also causes lung infections in humans. Human infections are usually acquired from the environment; however, dominant circulating clones (DCCs) have emerged recently in both M. abscessus subsp. massiliense and subsp. abscessus that appear to be transmitted among humans and are now globally distributed. These recently emerged clones are potentially informative about the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms of pathogen emergence and host adaptation. The geographical distribution of DCCs has been reported, but the genomic processes underlying their transition from environmental bacterium to human pathogen are not well characterized. To address this knowledge gap, we delineated the structure of M. abscessus subspecies abscessus and massiliense using genomic data from 200 clinical isolates of M. abscessus from seven geographical regions. We identified differences in overall patterns of lateral gene transfer (LGT) and barriers to LGT between subspecies and between environmental and host-adapted bacteria. We further characterized genome reorganization that accompanied bacterial host adaptation, inferring selection pressures acting at both genic and intergenic loci. We found that both subspecies encode an expansive pangenome with many genes at rare frequencies. Recombination appears more frequent in M. abscessus subsp. massiliense than in subsp. abscessus, consistent with prior reports. We found evidence suggesting that phage are exchanged between subspecies, despite genetic barriers evident elsewhere throughout the genome. Patterns of LGT differed according to niche, with less LGT observed among host-adapted DCCs versus environmental bacteria. We also found evidence suggesting that DCCs are under distinct selection pressures at both genic and intergenic sites. Our results indicate that host adaptation of M. abscessus was accompanied by major changes in genome evolution, including shifts in the apparent frequency of LGT and impacts of selection. Differences were evident among the DCCs as well, which varied in the degree of gene content remodelling, suggesting they were placed differently along the evolutionary trajectory toward host adaptation. These results provide insight into the evolutionary forces that reshape bacterial genomes as they emerge into the pathogenic niche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey L Bohr
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Madison A Youngblom
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | | | - Caitlin S Pepperell
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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van der Graaf-van Bloois L, Wagenaar JA, Zomer AL. RFPlasmid: predicting plasmid sequences from short-read assembly data using machine learning. Microb Genom 2021; 7. [PMID: 34846288 PMCID: PMC8743549 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistance (AMR) genes in bacteria are often carried on plasmids and these plasmids can transfer AMR genes between bacteria. For molecular epidemiology purposes and risk assessment, it is important to know whether the genes are located on highly transferable plasmids or in the more stable chromosomes. However, draft whole-genome sequences are fragmented, making it difficult to discriminate plasmid and chromosomal contigs. Current methods that predict plasmid sequences from draft genome sequences rely on single features, like k-mer composition, circularity of the DNA molecule, copy number or sequence identity to plasmid replication genes, all of which have their drawbacks, especially when faced with large single-copy plasmids, which often carry resistance genes. With our newly developed prediction tool RFPlasmid, we use a combination of multiple features, including k-mer composition and databases with plasmid and chromosomal marker proteins, to predict whether the likely source of a contig is plasmid or chromosomal. The tool RFPlasmid supports models for 17 different bacterial taxa, including Campylobacter, Escherichia coli and Salmonella, and has a taxon agnostic model for metagenomic assemblies or unsupported organisms. RFPlasmid is available both as a standalone tool and via a web interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda van der Graaf-van Bloois
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Campylobacter and Antimicrobial Resistance from an One Health Perspective/OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Jaap A Wagenaar
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Campylobacter and Antimicrobial Resistance from an One Health Perspective/OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Aldert L Zomer
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.,WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Campylobacter and Antimicrobial Resistance from an One Health Perspective/OIE Reference Laboratory for Campylobacteriosis, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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50
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Bossé JT, Li Y, Cohen LM, Stegger M, Angen Ø, Lacouture S, Gottschalk M, Lei L, Koene M, Kuhnert P, Bandara AB, Inzana TJ, Holden MTG, Harris D, Oshota O, Maskell DJ, Tucker AW, Wren BW, Rycroft AN, Langford PR, On Behalf Of The BRaDP T Consortium. Complete genome for Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovar 8 reference strain 405: comparative analysis with draft genomes for different laboratory stock cultures indicates little genetic variation. Microb Genom 2021; 7. [PMID: 34818145 PMCID: PMC8743550 DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We report here the complete genome sequence of the widely studied Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovar 8 reference strain 405, generated using the Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) RS II platform. Furthermore, we compared draft sequences generated by Illumina sequencing of six stocks of this strain, including the same original stock used to generate the PacBio sequence, held in different countries and found little genetic variation, with only three SNPs identified, all within the degS gene. However, sequences of two small plasmids, pARD3079 and p405tetH, detected by Illumina sequencing of the draft genomes were not identified in the PacBio sequence of the reference strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janine T Bossé
- Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Yanwen Li
- Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Liza Miriam Cohen
- Department of Production Animal Clinical Sciences Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Marc Stegger
- Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Øystein Angen
- Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sonia Lacouture
- Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Marcelo Gottschalk
- Groupe de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses du Porc, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Liancheng Lei
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, P.R China
| | - Miriam Koene
- Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Kuhnert
- Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, Universität Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Aloka B Bandara
- Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, USA
| | - Thomas J Inzana
- Present address: College of Veterinary Medicine, Long Island University, Brookville, USA.,Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Blacksburg, USA
| | - Matthew T G Holden
- Present address: School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.,The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Harris
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
| | - Olusegun Oshota
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Duncan J Maskell
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alexander W Tucker
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Brendan W Wren
- Faculty of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Andrew N Rycroft
- Department of Pathology and Pathogen Biology, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK
| | - Paul R Langford
- Section of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Infectious Diseases, Imperial College London, London, UK
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