Genotyping of Bacillus cereus Strains by Microarray-Based Resequencing

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Michael Zwick, Emory University; Maureen P. Kiley, Naval Medical Research Center; Andrew C. Stewart, Naval Medical Research Center; Alfred Mateczun, Naval Medical Research Center; Timothy Read, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-07-02
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Public Domain declaration which stipulates that, once placed in the public domain, this work may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0002513
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: PLoS ONE
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 7
• Start Page: e2513
• End Page: e2513
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by grant G.G.004_06_NM_B from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
• Keywords: MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Science & Technology - Other Topics; Science & Technology

Abstract

The ability to distinguish microbial pathogens from closely related but nonpathogenic strains is key to understanding the population biology of these organisms. In this regard, Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes inhalational anthrax, is of interest because it is closely related and often difficult to distinguish from other members of the B. cereus group that can cause diverse diseases. We employed custom-designed resequencing arrays (RAs) based on the genome sequence of Bacillus anthracis to generate 422 kb of genomic sequence from a panel of 41 Bacillus cereus sensu lato strains. Here we show that RAS represent a "one reaction" genotyping technology with the ability to discriminate between highly similar B. anthracis isolates and more divergent strains of the B. cereus s I Clade 1. Our data show that RAs can be an efficient genotyping technology for pre-screening the genetic diversity of large strain collections to selected the best candidates for whole genome sequencing.