Identification of anthrax toxin genes in a Bacillus cereus associated with an illness resembling inhalation anthrax
Identification of anthrax toxin genes in a Bacillus cereus associated with an illness resembling inhalation anthrax
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.0402414101
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发表时间：
2004-06-01
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Fraser, CM
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hoffmaster, AR;Ravel, J;Fraser, CM
炭疽杆菌是炭疽病的病原体，炭疽病是哺乳动物的一种急性致命疾病。它被认为与蜡状芽孢杆菌不同，蜡状芽孢杆菌是一种机会性病原体，也是食物中毒的原因，因为它存在质粒pXO1和px O2，它们分别编码致命的毒素复合体和聚对D-谷氨酸胶囊。这项工作描述了一个非B。具有炭疽毒素基因的炭疽分离株，能够引起严重的吸入性炭疽样疾病。虽然初步表型分析和16S rRNA分析将该分离物鉴定为蜡样芽孢杆菌，但快速生成和分析高覆盖率的基因组草稿序列显示存在一个环状质粒pBCXO1，与炭疽杆菌毒素编码质粒pXO1有99.6%的相似性。虽然没有发现pXO2编码的胶囊基因的同源基因，但在第二个先前未鉴定的质粒pBC218上编码了一个多糖胶囊簇。用蜡样芽孢杆菌69241攻击A/J小鼠证实了该菌株的毒力。这些发现是一个例子，说明基因组学如何能够迅速帮助公共卫生专家不仅对明确识别的选定制剂做出反应，而且还对具有类似致病潜力的新制剂做出反应。在这项研究中，我们将公共卫生方法与基因组分析相结合，以深入了解表型特征及其遗传基础之间的相关性。
Bacillus anthracis is the etiologic agent of anthrax, an acute fatal disease among mammals. It was thought to differ from Bacillus cereus, an opportunistic pathogen and cause of food poisoning, by the presence of plasmids pXO1 and pX o2, which encode the lethal toxin complex and the poly-p-D-glutamic acid capsule, respectively. This work describes a non-B. anthracis isolate that possesses the anthrax toxin genes and is capable of causing a severe inhalation anthrax-like illness. Although initial phenotypic and 16S rRNA analysis identified this isolate as B. cereus, the rapid generation and analysis of a high-coverage draft genome sequence revealed the presence of a circular plasmid, named pBCXO1, with 99.6% similarity with the B. anthracis toxin-encoding plasmid, pXO1. Although homologues of the pXO2 encoded capsule genes were not found, a polysaccharide capsule cluster is encoded on a second, previously unidentified plasmid, pBC218. A/J mice challenged with B. cereus 69241 confirmed the virulence of this strain. These findings represent an example of how genomics could rapidly assist public health experts responding not only to clearly identified select agents but also to novel agents with similar pathogenic potentials. In this study, we combined a public health approach with genome analysis to provide insight into the correlation of phenotypic characteristics and their genetic basis.