Brucella abortus Strain 2308 Wisconsin Genome: Importance of the Definition of Reference Strains

Marcela Suárez-Esquivel, Nazareth Ruiz-Villalobos, Amanda Castillo-Zeledón, César Jiménez-Rojas, R. Martin Roop, Diego J. Comerci, Elías Barquero-Calvo, Carlos Chacón-Díaz, Clayton C. Caswell, Kate S. Baker, Esteban Chaves-Olarte, Nicholas R. Thomson, Edgardo Moreno, Jean J. Letesson, Xavier De Bolle, Caterina Guzmán-Verri

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Abstract

Brucellosis is a bacterial infectious disease affecting a wide range of mammals and a neglected zoonosis caused by species of the genetically homogenous genus Brucella. As in most studies on bacterial diseases, research in brucellosis is carried out by using reference strains as canonical models to understand the mechanisms underlying host pathogen interactions. We performed whole genome sequencing analysis of the reference strain B. abortus 2308 routinely used in our laboratory, including manual curated annotation accessible as an editable version through a link at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brucella#Genomics. Comparison of this genome with two publically available 2308 genomes showed significant differences, particularly indels related to insertional elements, suggesting variability related to the transposition of these elements within the same strain. Considering the outcome of high resolution genomic techniques in the bacteriology field, the conventional concept of strain definition needs to be revised.

Original languageEnglish
JournalFrontiers in Microbiology
Volume7
Issue numberSEP
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Brucella Brucella abortus
  • Reference genome
  • Reference strain
  • WGS

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