![[Feedback]](/icons/banner/feedbackACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[For Subscribers]](/icons/banner/subscriberACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Archive]](/icons/banner/archiveACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Search]](/icons/banner/searchACT.gif){kind=icon}
![[Contents]](/icons/banner/tocACT.gif){kind=icon}
|
|
|
|
|
||
1 Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA; 2 Department of Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA; 3 Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA; 4 Harvard Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as an important and problematic human pathogen as it is the causative agent of several types of infections including pneumonia, meningitis, septicemia, and urinary tract infections. We explored the pathogenic content of this harmful pathogen using a combination of DNA sequencing and insertional mutagenesis. The genome of this organism was sequenced using a strategy involving high-density pyrosequencing, a novel, rapid method of high-throughput sequencing. Excluding the rDNA repeats, the assembled genome is 3,976,746 base pairs (bp) and has 3830 ORFs. A significant fraction of ORFs (17.2%) are located in 28 putative alien islands, indicating that the genome has acquired a large amount of foreign DNA. Consistent with its role in pathogenesis, a remarkable number of the islands (16) contain genes implicated in virulence, indicating the organism devotes a considerable portion of its genes to pathogenesis. The largest island contains elements homologous to the Legionella/Coxiella Type IV secretion apparatus. Type IV secretion systems have been demonstrated to be important for virulence in other organisms and thus are likely to help mediate pathogenesis of A. baumannii. Insertional mutagenesis generated avirulent isolates of A. baumannii and verified that six of the islands contain virulence genes, including two novel islands containing genes that lacked homology with others in the databases. The DNA sequencing approach described in this study allows the rapid elucidation of the DNA sequence of any microbe and, when combined with genetic screens, can identify many novel genes important for microbial pathogenesis.
[Keywords: Ethanol; high-density pyrosequencing; insertional mutagenesis; pathogenesis]
Received November 8, 2006; revised version accepted January 16, 2007.
E-MAIL Michael.snyder{at}yale.edu; FAX (203) 432-6161.
Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.1510307
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us 
Digg 
Reddit 
Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. C. Valentine, D. Contreras, S. Tan, L. J. Real, S. Chu, and H. H. Xu Phenotypic and Molecular Characterization of Acinetobacter baumannii Clinical Isolates from Nosocomial Outbreaks in Los Angeles County, California J. Clin. Microbiol., August 1, 2008; 46(8): 2499 - 2507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Y. Peleg, H. Seifert, and D. L. Paterson Acinetobacter baumannii: Emergence of a Successful Pathogen Clin. Microbiol. Rev., July 1, 2008; 21(3): 538 - 582. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Iacono, L. Villa, D. Fortini, R. Bordoni, F. Imperi, R. J. P. Bonnal, T. Sicheritz-Ponten, G. De Bellis, P. Visca, A. Cassone, et al. Whole-Genome Pyrosequencing of an Epidemic Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Strain Belonging to the European Clone II Group Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., July 1, 2008; 52(7): 2616 - 2625. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T.-L. Chen, R. C.-C. Wu, M.-F. Shaio, C.-P. Fung, and W.-L. Cho Acquisition of a Plasmid-Borne blaOXA-58 Gene with an Upstream IS1008 Insertion Conferring a High Level of Carbapenem Resistance to Acinetobacter baumannii Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., July 1, 2008; 52(7): 2573 - 2580. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. A. Holt and S. J.M. Jones The new paradigm of flow cell sequencing Genome Res., June 1, 2008; 18(6): 839 - 846. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Niu, K. M. Clemmer, R. A. Bonomo, and P. N. Rather Isolation and Characterization of an Autoinducer Synthase from Acinetobacter baumannii J. Bacteriol., May 1, 2008; 190(9): 3386 - 3392. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. Lowman, T. Kalk, C. N. Menezes, M. A. John, and M. P. Grobusch A case of community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii meningitis - has the threat moved beyond the hospital? J. Med. Microbiol., May 1, 2008; 57(5): 676 - 678. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Poirel, S. Figueiredo, V. Cattoir, A. Carattoli, and P. Nordmann Acinetobacter radioresistens as a Silent Source of Carbapenem Resistance for Acinetobacter spp. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., April 1, 2008; 52(4): 1252 - 1256. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. Chakravorty, M. Klovstad, G. Peterson, R. E. Lindeman, and L. A. Gregg-Jolly Sensitivity of an Acinetobacter baylyi mpl Mutant to DNA Damage Appl. Envir. Microbiol., February 15, 2008; 74(4): 1273 - 1275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Damier-Piolle, S. Magnet, S. Bremont, T. Lambert, and P. Courvalin AdeIJK, a Resistance-Nodulation-Cell Division Pump Effluxing Multiple Antibiotics in Acinetobacter baumannii Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., February 1, 2008; 52(2): 557 - 562. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. W. Loehfelm, N. R. Luke, and A. A. Campagnari Identification and Characterization of an Acinetobacter baumannii Biofilm-Associated Protein J. Bacteriol., February 1, 2008; 190(3): 1036 - 1044. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Perez, A. M. Hujer, K. M. Hujer, B. K. Decker, P. N. Rather, and R. A. Bonomo Global Challenge of Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., October 1, 2007; 51(10): 3471 - 3484. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
