Microbial Genome Sequencing: Aeromonas Hydrophila Under the Auspices of the Microbial Genome Sequencing Program

马里兰大学的艾米·马丁-卡纳汉、萨姆·约瑟夫和科林·斯汀博士、基因组研究所的乔纳森·海德尔伯格博士和德克萨斯大学的阿肖克·K·乔普拉博士获得了赠款，以产生嗜水气单胞菌的完整基因组序列。这将为理解这种微生物的生理学和生态学提供一个路线图，这种微生物存在于世界各地的各种水生环境中，是一种重要的鱼类病原体，并与水环境中的许多其他微生物相互作用。生物的DNA将被分离、纯化和提取，每个片段都将被测序，随后将通过最先进的分子和计算技术的组合将完整的遗传密码拼凑在一起。这项研究将提供有关这种微生物的重要遗传信息，以及它在环境中的作用和与其他生物的相互作用。嗜水气单胞菌被列入美国环境保护局的饮用水污染物候选名单，并被美国食品和药物管理局列为令人担忧的病原体。总体而言，嗜水气单胞菌的测序将进一步加深我们对这一现象以及地球上许多主要水生生态系统中相关生物的理解。随着我们对水环境的日益依赖，我们必须更好地了解其微生物区系的总体组成，从而使我们能够发现环境质量的变化，这些变化可能对人类和生态系统健康构成危害。该项目的成果将提供给普通科学界，并纳入马里兰大学各校区的本科生和研究生科学课程。序列数据还将通过科学数据库和网页以及其他公共数据库提供。

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Amy Martin-Carnahan, Sam Joseph and Colin Stine at the University of Maryland, Jonathan Heidelberg at The Institute for Genomic Research and Ashok K. Chopra at the University of Texas to produce the complete genome sequence of the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila. This will provide a roadmap for understanding the physiology and ecology of this microorganism which is found in all manner of aquatic environments worldwide, is an important fish pathogen and interacts with many other microorganisms in the aquatic environment. The DNA of the organism will be isolated, purified and extracted and each fragment will be sequenced and subsequently the complete genetic code will be pieced together by a combination of state-of-the art molecular and computational techniques. This study will provide vital genetic information about this microbe, and its role in the environment and interactions with other organisms. Aeromonas hydrophila is on the Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and is listed as a pathogen of concern in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's "Bad Bug Book". Overall, the sequencing of A. hydrophila will further our understanding of this and related organisms in many of the major aquatic ecosystems on this planet. With our increasing dependence on the aquatic environment, it is important for us to better understand the overall composition of its microbiota, thus allowing us to detect changes in environmental quality that may pose hazards to human and ecosystem health. The results of this project will be made available to the general scientific community as well as incorporated into undergraduate and graduate science courses at various campuses of the University of Maryland. The sequence data will also be available through scientific databases and web pages as well as other public databases.