Journal article
An attenuated strain of Bacillus anthracis (CDC 684) has a large chromosomal inversion and altered growth kinetics
BMC Genomics, Vol.12, 477
2011
Abstract
Background: An isolate originally labeled Bacillus megaterium CDC 684 was found to contain both pXO1 and pXO2, was non-hemolytic, sensitive to gamma-phage, and produced both the protective antigen and the poly-D-glutamic acid capsule. These phenotypes prompted Ezzell et al., (J. Clin. Microbiol. 28:223) to reclassify this isolate to Bacillus anthracis in 1990.Results: We demonstrate that despite these B. anthracis features, the isolate is severely attenuated in a guinea pig model. This prompted whole genome sequencing and closure. The comparative analysis of CDC 684 to other sequenced B. anthracis isolates and further analysis reveals: a) CDC 684 is a close relative of a virulent strain, Vollum A0488; b) CDC 684 defines a new B. anthracis lineage (at least 51 SNPs) that includes 15 other isolates; c) the genome of CDC 684 contains a large chromosomal inversion that spans 3.3 Mbp; d) this inversion has caused a displacement of the usual spatial orientation of the origin of replication (ori) to the termination of replication (ter) from 180° in wild-type B. anthracis to 120° in CDC 684 and e) this isolate also has altered growth kinetics in liquid media.Conclusions: We propose two alternative hypotheses explaining the attenuated phenotype of this isolate. Hypothesis 1 suggests that the skewed ori/ter relationship in CDC 684 has altered its DNA replication and/or transcriptome processes resulting in altered growth kinetics and virulence capacity. Hypothesis 2 suggests that one or more of the single nucleotide polymorphisms in CDC 684 has altered the expression of a regulatory element or other genes necessary for virulence. © 2011 Okinaka et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Details
- Title
- An attenuated strain of Bacillus anthracis (CDC 684) has a large chromosomal inversion and altered growth kinetics
- Authors
- R T Okinaka (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesErin P Price (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesS R Wolken (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesJ M Gruendike (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesW K Chung (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesT Pearson (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesG Xie (Author) - Los Alamos National Laboratory, United StatesC Munk (Author) - Los Alamos National Laboratory, United StatesK K Hill (Author) - Los Alamos National Laboratory, United StatesJ Challacombe (Author) - Los Alamos National Laboratory, United StatesB E Ivins (Author) - United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease, United StatesJ M Schupp (Author) - Translational Genomics Research Institute, United StatesS M Beckstrom-Sternberg (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United StatesA Friedlander (Author) - United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease, United StatesP Keim (Author) - Northern Arizona University, United States
- Publication details
- BMC Genomics, Vol.12, 477; 13
- Publisher
- BioMed Central Ltd.
- Date published
- 2011
- DOI
- 10.1186/1471-2164-12-477
- ISSN
- 1471-2164
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2011 Okinaka et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450437902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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