Abstract
Human anthrax cases necessitate rapid response. We completed Bacillus anthracis nanopore whole-genome sequencing in our high-containment laboratory from a human anthrax isolate hours after receipt. The de novo assembled genome showed no evidence of known antimicrobial resistance genes or introduced plasmid(s). Same-day genomic characterization enhances public health emergency response.
Highlights
Rapid genomic characterization of the implicated B. anthracis strain(s) could identify sequences associated with drug resistance
Single-nucleotide mutations in chromosomal B. anthracis quinolone resistance–determining regions of gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes can lead to ciprofloxacin resistance, and gene acquisition can lead to tetracycline and doxycycline resistance [3,4,6]
This study describes the laboratory work and demonstrates the usefulness of rapid Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to inform time-sensitive public health responses
Summary
Rapid genomic characterization of the implicated B. anthracis strain(s) could identify sequences associated with drug resistance. CDC described a rapid nanopore sequencing approach and custom bioinformatics pipeline for B. anthracis that yielded complete chromosome and plasmid assemblies, and detected known AMR genes and mutations in avirulent laboratory strains [13]. The Ba0914 genome assembly contained single contigs for the chromosome and each plasmid, pXO1 and pXO2 (Figures 1, 2) with >54X average depth of coverage and shared >99.75% identity to the Ames Ancestor strain
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