Abstract
Salmonella enterica subsp. houtenae (S. houtenae) is a common subspecies in reptiles and has been implicated as a source of serious and life-threatening diseases in humans. Although occurrence and significance of S. houtenae infections have been extensively studied, the genetic features of S. houtenae have remained unknown due to a lack of available high-quality genome sequences. We obtained the complete genome sequence of S. houtenae 45:g,z51:- strain 20-369 isolated from multiple abdominal abscesses of an African fat-tailed gecko (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) using Nanopore and Illumina sequencing technologies and generated the 4.65Mbp complete genome sequence of the S. houtenae str. 20-369. We annotated and analyzed the genome sequence with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of the genome characteristics associated with its pathogenicity. Overall, this study found several interesting genomic features such as pseudogene formation, virulence gene profile, and novel genomic islands. This study provides basis for an understanding possible genetic mechanism underlying pathogenicity of S. houtenae 45:g,z51:- as well as a high-quality genome reference for future comparison studies.
Highlights
Salmonella is a genus of Gram-negative, non-sporulated and facultative anaerobe bacillus with flagella and mobility, composed of 2579 different serotypes [1]
We produced the first complete genome sequence of S. houtenae 45:g,z51:- strain 20-369 isolated from multiple abdominal abscesses of an African fat-tailed gecko in Connecticut, United States
The African fat-tailed gecko had severe subacute pyogranulomatous and necrotizing oophoritis and minimal to moderate multifocal granulomatous peritonitis with intralesional bacterial colonies, and histopathology revealed infection originating in the ovary
Summary
Salmonella is a genus of Gram-negative, non-sporulated and facultative anaerobe bacillus with flagella and mobility, composed of 2579 different serotypes [1]. Most Salmonella diseases are linked to a wide variety of serotypes of S. enterica subsp. S. houtenae is the most prevalent subspecies identified from 31 cases of Salmonella infection in human with known exposure to reptiles in Germany between 2006 and 2008 [4]. As of 8 March 2021, only six complete genome sequences of S. houtenae have been reported in NCBI GenBank database; S. houtenae serotypes 16:z4,z32:-, 44:z4,z23:-, and 43:z4,z23:-, and to our best knowledge, there is only two published reports of genome analysis of. S. houtenae but no reports of complete genome analysis [8,14]. We produced the first complete genome sequence of S. houtenae 45:g,z51:- strain 20-369 isolated from multiple abdominal abscesses of an African fat-tailed gecko in Connecticut, United States. We analyzed the genomic features of the isolate including presence of antibiotic resistance genes and chromosome mutations, pseudogenes, plasmids, virulence gene profiles, and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to establish phylogenetic relationships with other Salmonella spp
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