Genomic analysis of clinical Aeromonas isolates reveals genetic diversity but little evidence of genetic determinants for diarrhoeal disease

Elizabeth J. Klemm, Muhammad Imran Nisar, Matt Bawn, Dilruba Nasrin, Farah Naz Qamar, Andrew Page, Farheen Qadri, Sadia Shakoor, Anita K.M. Zaidi, Myron M. Levine, Gordon Dougan, Robert A. Kingsley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Aeromonas spp. are associated with a number of infectious syndromes in humans including gastroenteritis and dysentery. Our understanding of the genetic diversity, population structure, virulence determinants and antimicrobial resistance of the genus has been limited by a lack of sequenced genomes linked to metadata. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the whole genome sequences of 447 Aeromonas isolates from children in Karachi, Pakistan, with moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) and from matched controls without diarrhoea that were collected as part of the Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS). Human-associated Aeromonas isolates exhibited high species diversity and extensive antimicrobial and virulence gene content. Aeromonas caviae, A. dhankensis, A. veronii and A. enteropelogenes were all significantly associated with MSD in at least one cohort group. The maf2 and lafT genes that encode components of polar and lateral flagella, respectively, exhibited a weak association with isolates originating from cases of gastroenteritis.

Original languageEnglish
Article number001211
JournalMicrobial genomics
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • AMR
  • Aeromonas
  • GEMS
  • Pakistan
  • diarrhoea
  • genomics
  • virulence

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