High-Quality Genome Sequence of Bacillus anthracis Strain 14RA5914 Isolated during an Outbreak in Germany in 2014

Elschner, Mandy C.; Busch, Anne; Schliephake, Annette; Gaede, Wolfgang; Zuchantke, Eric; Tomaso, Herbert

doi:10.1128/genomea.01002-17

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This data set (total = 43) includes (i) eight epidemiologically related strains from the three most recent anthrax outbreaks in Germany in 2009, 2012, and 2014, as well as (ii) 35 epidemiologically unrelated strains from 35 different outbreaks in Italy with one strain per outbreak (Table S1). Strains of this data set were sequenced in this study, except three German strains previously sequenced using the Ion Torrent or Pacific Bioscience platform ( 23 – 25 ). Data Set 3 includes 57 published B. anthracis strains isolated from heroin users in four European countries ( 26 ) (Table S1) and was used to evaluate the proposed cutoff for clustering.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Whole-Genome-Based Gene-by-Gene Typing System for Standardized High-Resolution Strain Typing of Bacillus anthracis

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Whole-genome-sequencing (WGS) has been established for bacterial subtyping and is regularly used to study pathogen transmission, to investigate outbreaks, and to perform routine surveillance. Core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) is a bacterial subtyping method that uses WGS data to provide a high resolution strain characterisation. This study aimed at developing a novel cgMLST scheme for Bacillus anthracis, a notorious pathogen that causes anthrax in livestock and humans worldwide. The scheme comprises 3,803 genes that were conserved in 57 B. anthracis genomes spanning the whole phylogeny. The scheme has been evaluated and applied to 584 genomes from 50 countries. On average, 99.5% of the cgMLST targets were detected. The cgMLST results confirmed the classical canonical Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphisms (SNPs) grouping of B. anthracis into major clades and subclades. Genetic distances calculated based on cgMLST were comparable to distances from whole-genome-based SNP analysis with similar phylogenetic topology and comparable discriminatory power. Additionally, the application of the cgMLST scheme to anthrax outbreaks from Germany and Italy led to a definition of a cut-off threshold of five allele differences to trace epidemiologically linked strains for cluster typing and transmission analysis. Finally, the association of two clusters of B. anthracis to human cases of injectional anthrax in four European countries was confirmed using cgMLST. In summary, this study presents a novel cgMLST scheme that provides a high-resolution strain genotyping for B. anthracis. This scheme can be used in parallel with SNP typing methods to facilitate rapid and harmonised inter-laboratory comparisons, essential for global surveillance and outbreak analysis. The scheme is publicly-available for application from users including those with little bioinformatics knowledge.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Whole-Genome-Based Gene-by-Gene Typing System for Standardized High-Resolution Strain Typing of Bacillus anthracis

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Italian isolates represent a wide section of strains, which are different from each other in terms of location and year of isolation (from 1917–2017), as well as genetic profiles (different genotypes and lineages) (see Table S1 ). The German, as well as the Italian strains, have been described in previous publications [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Previous analyses based on classical canonical SNP typing and core genome MLST have shown that the two German strains belong to the Ames/Sterne canSNP group [ 19 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Universally Applicable and Species-Specific Marker Peptides for Bacillus anthracis

Witt

Galante

Andreotti

et al. 2022

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anthrax is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis (BA). Specific identification of this pathogen often relies on targeting genes located on two extrachromosomal plasmids, which represent the major pathogenicity factors of BA. However, more recent findings show that these plasmids have also been found in other closely related Bacillus species. In this study, we investigated the possibility of identifying species-specific and universally applicable marker peptides for BA. For this purpose, we applied a high-resolution mass spectrometry-based approach for 42 BA isolates. Along with the genomic sequencing data and by developing a bioinformatics data evaluation pipeline, which uses a database containing most of the publicly available protein sequences worldwide (UniParc), we were able to identify eleven universal marker peptides unique to BA. These markers are located on the chromosome and therefore, might overcome known problems, such as observable loss of plasmids in environmental species, plasmid loss during cultivation in the lab, and the fact that the virulence plasmids are not necessarily a unique feature of BA. The identified chromosomally encoded markers in this study could extend the small panel of already existing chromosomal targets and along with targets for the virulence plasmids, may pave the way to an even more reliable identification of BA using genomics- as well as proteomics-based techniques.

show abstract

“…The last human infections in 2012 were associated with illicit consumption of heroin allegedly contaminated with B. anthracis spores ( 6 – 8 ). Animal cases are equally rare, with small-scale bovine outbreaks recorded in 2009 ( 9 ), 2012 ( 10 ), and 2014 ( 11 ). While these animal cases involved B. anthracis genotypes common in Germany, the human cases raised concern, as the genotypes involved were distinct from any known German isolate but closely related to strains from the Near and Middle East ( 12 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reoccurring Bovine Anthrax in Germany on the Same Pasture after 12 Years

Braun¹,

Beyer

Hanczaruk³

et al. 2022

J Clin Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The zoonotic disease anthrax caused by the endospore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis is very rare in Germany. In the state of Bavaria, the last case occurred in July of 2009 resulting in four dead cows. In August of 2021, the disease reemerged after heavy rains, killing one gestating cow. Notably, both outbreaks affected the same pasture, suggesting a close epidemiological connection. B. anthracis could be grown from blood culture and the presence of both virulence plasmids (pXO1 and pXO2) was confirmed by PCR. Also, recently developed diagnostic tools enabled rapid detection of B. anthracis cells and nucleic acids directly in clinical samples. The complete genome of the strain isolated from blood, designated BF-5, was DNA-sequenced and phylogenetically grouped within the B.Br.CNEVA clade that is typical for European B. anthracis strains. The genome was almost identical to BF-1, the isolate of 2009, separated only by three single nucleotide polymorphisms on the chromosome, one on plasmid pXO2 and three indel-regions. Further, B. anthracis DNA was detected by PCR from soil-samples taken from spots, where the cow had fallen onto the pasture. New tools based on phage receptor binding proteins enabled the microscopic detection and isolation of B. anthracis directly from soil-samples. These environmental isolates were genotyped and found to be SNP-identical to BF-5. Therefore, it seems that the BF-5 genotype is currently the prevalent one at the affected premises. The contaminated area at the cadaver was subsequently disinfected with formaldehyde.

show abstract

High-Quality Genome Sequence of Bacillus anthracis Strain 14RA5914 Isolated during an Outbreak in Germany in 2014

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

A Whole-Genome-Based Gene-by-Gene Typing System for Standardized High-Resolution Strain Typing of Bacillus anthracis

A Whole-Genome-Based Gene-by-Gene Typing System for Standardized High-Resolution Strain Typing of Bacillus anthracis

Identification of Universally Applicable and Species-Specific Marker Peptides for Bacillus anthracis

Reoccurring Bovine Anthrax in Germany on the Same Pasture after 12 Years

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About