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Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
Multilocus sequence typing supports the hypothesis that Ochrobactrum anthropi displays a human-associated
Sara Romano1, Fabien Aujoulat, Estelle Jumas-Bilak
1Faculté de Pharmacie, Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie, Université Montpellier 1, 34093 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. sara.romano@hotmail.fr
BMC Microbiology
|December 22, 2009
Summary
Ochrobactrum anthropi, a versatile bacterium, shows a distinct human-associated subpopulation. This finding suggests it may be a specialized opportunistic pathogen, not solely driven by antibiotic pressure.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Pathogenesis
- Population Genetics
Background:
- Ochrobactrum anthropi is a versatile bacterium found in diverse habitats.
- It is increasingly recognized as an opportunistic pathogen in healthcare settings.
- Understanding its population biology, especially human isolates, is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the population biology of Ochrobactrum anthropi.
- To characterize clinical and environmental isolates using a polyphasic approach.
- To identify potential human-specific lineages within the species.
Main Methods:
- Developed and applied a Multi-Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) scheme for O. anthropi.
- Utilized multi-locus phylogeny and genomic fingerprinting (PFGE).
- Performed antibiotyping for comparative analysis.
Main Results:
- Proposed a novel MLST scheme for O. anthropi based on 7 genes.
- Identified a major clonal complex exclusively containing human clinical isolates, suggesting an epidemic structure.
- Genomic fingerprinting and antibiotyping showed lower discriminatory power for population structure analysis.
Conclusions:
- O. anthropi exhibits a distinct human-associated subpopulation.
- The emergence of this lineage is likely independent of antibiotic selective pressure.
- O. anthropi may be evolving into a human-specialized opportunistic pathogen.
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