<i>In silico</i> analysis of genomes of Bacillus anthracis strains belonging to major genetic lineages

Abstract

Introduction. The global phylogenetic population structure of Bacillus anthracis is represented by major genetic lineages (A, B and C) with nonuniform distribution of isolates, which still cannot be explained. Identification of characteristics of genomes of strains from three lineages, which can affect their spread, is of high importance.
 The aim of the study is to explore genomic characteristics of different genetic lineages, which may have an effect on their distribution, by using the in silico analysis of a representative subset of B. anthracis strains.
 Materials and methods. The whole-genome sequences of 49 B. anthracis strains and Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis CI strain were studied. The in silico analysis was performed to identify polymorphisms using BLASTn, MEGA X, Tandem Repeat Finder, Parsnp the Harvest Suite software.
 Results. The genome variability depended on single nucleotide polymorphisms, single-nucleotide repeats, number of tandem repeats, substitutions and indels. In strains from lineages B and C, they outnumbered 1.613.4 times and in the B. cereus biovar anthracis strain 5150 times those in B. anthracis strains from lineage A. Significant substitutions in housekeeping genes and pathogenicity factor genes caused changes in amino acid sequences in proteins significantly more frequently in B. anthracis strains from major lineages B and C.
 Based on the molecular typing and a multi-virulence-locus sequence typing analysis (MVLST) with a discrimination index of 0.9633, strains were classified into three major genetic lineages including groups different from the canonical group.
 Conclusion. The distinctive feature of B. anthracis genomes is that they have a larger number of significant nucleotide substitutions in pathogenicity factor genes and housekeeping genes of strains belonging to major lineages B and C compared to lineage A. Changes in proteins encoded by them can cause differences in ecological adaptation and in prevalence, which are higher in strains of lineage A. MVLST having a high discriminating capacity can be used as an additional method to B. anthracis molecular typing.