1887

Abstract

an obligate intracellular bacterium, is a major causative agent of reproductive loss in ruminants, with zoonotic potential. Though this pathogen is primarily known to infect livestock, recent studies have detected and isolated genetically distinct avian strains of from wild birds globally. Before this study, only five avian genomes were publicly available. Therefore, we performed culture-independent probe-based whole-genome sequencing on clinical swabs positive for avian obtained from Australian Torresian crows () in 2019 and 2020. We successfully obtained draft genomes for three avian strains (C1, C2 and C3), each comprising draft chromosomes with lengths of 1 115 667, 1 120 231 and 1 082 115 bp, and associated 7 553 bp plasmids, with a genome completeness exceeding 92 %. Molecular characterization revealed that these three strains comprise a novel sequence type (ST333), whilst phylogenetic analyses placed all three strains in a cluster with other avian genomes. Interestingly, these three strains share a distant genomic relation (2693 single nucleotide variants) with the reference strain 15-58d/44 (ST152), isolated from a Eurasian magpie () in Poland, highlighting the need for more publicly available genomes. Broad comparative analyses with other avian genomes revealed that the three draft genomes contain conserved genomic features, including genes coding for type III secretion system and polymorphic membrane proteins, and potential virulence factors such as the large chlamydial cytotoxin, warranting further studies. This research provides the first avian draft genomes from Australian birds, highlighting Torresian crows as novel reservoir hosts for these potential pathogens, and demonstrates a practical methodology for sequencing novel genomes without relying on traditional cell culture.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Australian Research Council (Award DE190100238)
    • Principle Award Recipient: MartinaJelocnik
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2023-11-22
2024-11-04
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