Abstract
Cronobacter species cause infections in all age groups; however neonates are at highest risk and remain the most susceptible age group for life-threatening invasive disease. The genus contains seven species:Cronobacter sakazakii, Cronobacter malonaticus, Cronobacter turicensis, Cronobacter muytjensii, Cronobacter dublinensis, Cronobacter universalis, and Cronobacter condimenti. Despite an abundance of published genomes of these species, genomics-based epidemiology of the genus is not well established. The gene content of a diverse group of 126 unique Cronobacter and taxonomically related isolates was determined using a pan genomic-based DNA microarray as a genotyping tool and as a means to identify outbreak isolates for food safety, environmental, and clinical surveillance purposes. The microarray constitutes 19,287 independent genes representing 15 Cronobacter genomes and 18 plasmids and 2,371 virulence factor genes of phylogenetically related Gram-negative bacteria. The Cronobacter microarray was able to distinguish the seven Cronobacter species from one another and from non-Cronobacter species; and within each species, strains grouped into distinct clusters based on their genomic diversity. These results also support the phylogenic divergence of the genus and clearly highlight the genomic diversity among each member of the genus. The current study establishes a powerful platform for further genomics research of this diverse genus, an important prerequisite toward the development of future countermeasures against this foodborne pathogen in the food safety and clinical arenas.
Highlights
Cronobacter is an opportunistic food borne pathogen
To determine the amount of genomic DNA to be used for microarray hybridization experiments, experiments using 2, 5, and 10 μg of purified genomic DNA isolated from C. sakazakii ATCC BAA-894 were conducted
Two previous microarray studies have been used to understand the genomic diversity within Cronobacter
Summary
Cronobacter is an opportunistic food borne pathogen. The genus contains seven species: Cronobacter sakazakii, Cronobacter malonaticus, Cronobacter turicensis, Cronobacter muytjensii, Cronobacter dublinensis, Cronobacter universalis, and Cronobacter condimenti; and is capable of causing illness among all age groups of the population [1]. Population groups especially at risk of severe infections include neonates (infants less than 4 weeks of age) and infants, as well as elderly and immuno-compromised adults. Infantile disease presents clinically as meningitis, septicemia, and necrotizing enterocolitis and its occurrence being epidemiologically linked to the consumption of temperature-abused, reconstituted, intrinsically or extrinsically contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) [2,3,4]. Infections such as pneumonia, septicemia, catheter-associated, and urinary tract infections in adults have been reported and the epidemiology of these cases suggests that other potential sources of illness exist [1]. Surveillance studies have shown that Cronobacter contaminate a multitude of foods and environments, including water, infant foods (PIF, follow-up formula), dried milk protein products, cheese, licorice, candies, dried spices, teas, nuts, herbs, filth and stable flies, and PIF or milk powder production facilities and household environments [4, 5]
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