Phylogenomic characterisation of a novel corynebacterial species pathogenic to animals

Jens Möller, Luca Musella Musella, Vyacheslav Melnikov, Walter Geißdörfer, Andreas Burkovski, Vartul Sangal*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)
68 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The genus Corynebacterium includes species of biotechnological, medical and veterinary importance. An atypical C. ulcerans strain, W25, was recently isolated from a case of necrotizing lymphadenitis in a wild boar. In this study, we have analysed the genome sequence of this strain and compared the phenotypic and virulence properties with other corynebacterial pathogens. Phylogenomic analyses revealed that strain W25 belongs to a novel species along with PO100/5 and KL1196. The latter strains were isolated from a pig and a roe deer, respectively; hence, this species appears to be associated to animals. The isolate W25 is likely a non-toxigenic tox gene bearing strain and may have compromised abilities to adhere to pharyngeal and laryngeal epithelial cells due to potential loss of the gene functions in spaBC and spaDEF pilus gene clusters. A number of corynebacterial virulence genes are present including pld encoding phospholipase D. Therefore, this strain may be able to cause severe invasive infections in animals and zoonotic infections in humans.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1225-1239
Number of pages15
JournalAntonie van Leeuwenhoek
Volume113
Issue number8
Early online date4 Jun 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2020

Keywords

  • Corynebacterium ulcerans
  • Diphtheria
  • NTTB
  • Non-toxigenic
  • Toxigenic
  • Virulence
  • Zoonotic

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