Nine Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) bacteria were isolated during environmental surveys for the ecological niche of Burkholderia pseudomallei, the aetiological agent of melioidosis, in the Northern Territory of Australia. They represented two multi-locus sequence analysis-based clusters, referred to as Bcc B and Boo L. Three additional environmental and clinical Bcc B isolates were identified upon deposition of the sequences in the PubMLST database. Analysis of the concatenated nucleotide sequence divergence levels within both groups (1.4 and 1.9%, respectively) and towards established Bcc species (4.0 and 3.9%, respectively) demonstrated that the two taxa represented novel Bcc species. All 12 isolates were further characterized using 16S rRNA and recA gene sequence analysis, RAPD analysis, DNA base content determination, fatty acid methyl ester analysis and biochemical profiling. Analysis of recA gene sequences revealed a remarkable diversity within each of these taxa, but, together, the results supported the affiliation of the two taxa to the Bcc. Bcc B strains can be differentiated from most other Bcc members by the assimilation of maltose. Bcc L strains can be differentiated from other Bcc members by the absence of assimilation of N-acetylglucosamine. The names Burkholderia stagnalis sp. nov. with type strain LMG 28156(T) (=CCUG 65686(T)) and Burkholderia territorii sp. nov. with type strain LMG 28158(T) (=CCUG 65687(T)) are proposed for Bcc B and Bcc L bacteria, respectively
Sporadic melioidosis cases have been reported in the African mainland and Indian Ocean islands, but until recently, these regions were not considered areas where B. pseudomallei is endemic. Given the high mortality rate of melioidosis, it is crucial that this disease be recognized and suspected in all regions of endemicity. Previous work has shown that B. pseudomallei originated in Australia, with subsequent introduction into Asia; however, the precise origin of B. pseudomallei in other tropical regions remains poorly understood. Using whole-genome sequencing, we characterized B. pseudomallei isolates from Madagascar and Burkina Faso. Next, we compared these strains to a global collection of B. pseudomallei isolates to identify their evolutionary origins. We found that African B. pseudomallei strains likely originated from Asia and were closely related to South American strains, reflecting a relatively recent shared evolutionary history. We also identified substantial genetic diversity among African strains, suggesting long-term B. pseudomallei endemicity in this region.
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