Genomic Changes Associated with the Loss of Nocardia brasiliensis Virulence in Mice after 200 In Vitro Passages.

Nocardia species, particularly Nocardia brasiliensis, are etiologic agents of mycetoma, a chronic subcutaneous infection. Until now, little has been known about the pathogenic mechanisms involved in nocardial infection. Traditionally, subculture in rich media has been a simple way to induce attenuation. In this work, we report the changes in virulence toward mice and in genomic constitution of N. brasiliensis produced after 200 continuous subcultures in brain heart infusion (BHI) medium (P-200 strain). The ability of the N. brasiliensis P-200 strain to produce experimental infection was tested using BALB/c mice. P-200 was also used to immunize mice to determine whether it could induce resistance against a challenge with a nonsubcultured isolate (P-0). Comparative proteomic analysis between N. brasiliensis P-0 and P-200 was performed by two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis, and the genome sequence was obtained through Roche 454 sequence analysis. Virulence in BALB/c mice was completely lost, and BALB/c mice immunized with P-200 bacterial cells were resistant to mycetoma production by the nonsubcultured strain. Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that P-200 lost a total of 262,913 bp distributed in 19 deleted regions, involving a total of 213 open reading frames (ORFs). The deleted genes included those encoding bacterial virulence factors, e.g., catalase, nitrate reductase enzymes, and a group of mammalian cell entry (MCE) family proteins, which may explain the loss of virulence of the isolate. Thus, completely attenuated N. brasiliensis was obtained after 200 passages in BHI medium, and putative Nocardia virulence genes were identified for the first time.

Genome annotation of a Saccharomyces sp. lager brewer's yeast.

The genome of lager brewer's yeast is a hybrid, with Saccharomyces eubayanus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as sub-genomes. Due to their specific use in the beer industry, relatively little information is available. The genome of brewing yeast was sequenced and annotated in this study. We obtained a genome size of 22.7 Mbp that consisted of 133 scaffolds, with 65 scaffolds larger than 10 kbp. With respect to the annotation, 9939 genes were obtained, and when they were submitted to a local alignment, we found that 53.93% of these genes corresponded to S. cerevisiae, while another 42.86% originated from S. eubayanus. Our results confirm that our strain is a hybrid of at least two different genomes.

Draft Genome Sequence of Actinomadura madurae LIID-AJ290, Isolated from a Human Mycetoma Case.

Here we present the draft genome sequence of a member of the Thermomonosporaceae, Actinomadura madurae LIID-AJ290, isolated from a human case of mycetoma. The assembly contains 10,308,866 bp. This is to our knowledge the first reported genome of a human-pathogenic Actinomadura species.

Complete genome sequence analysis of Nocardia brasiliensis HUJEG-1 reveals a saprobic lifestyle and the genes needed for human pathogenesis.

Nocardia brasiliensis is an important etiologic agent of mycetoma. These bacteria live as a saprobe in soil or organic material and enter the tissue via minor trauma. Mycetoma is characterized by tumefaction and the production of fistula and abscesses, with no spontaneous cure. By using mass sequencing, we determined the complete genomic nucleotide sequence of the bacteria. According to our data, the genome is a circular chromosome 9,436,348-bp long with 68% G+C content that encodes 8,414 proteins. We observed orthologs for virulence factors, a higher number of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis and catabolism, and gene clusters for the synthesis of bioactive compounds, such as antibiotics, terpenes, and polyketides. An in silico analysis of the sequence supports the conclusion that the bacteria acquired diverse genes by horizontal transfer from other soil bacteria, even from eukaryotic organisms. The genome composition reflects the evolution of bacteria via the acquisition of a large amount of DNA, which allows it to survive in new ecological niches, including humans.

Complete genome sequence of Nocardia brasiliensis HUJEG-1.

In Mexico, actinomycetoma is mainly caused by Nocardia brasiliensis, which is a soil inhabitant actinobacterium. Here, we report for the first time the draft genome of a strain isolated from a human case that has largely been found in in vitro and experimental models of actinomycetoma, N. brasiliensis HUJEG-1.