Whole-genome sequencing to investigate a non-clonal melioidosis cluster on a remote Australian island.

Melioidosis is a tropical disease caused by the bacterium . Outbreaks are uncommon and can generally be attributed to a single point source and strain. We used whole-genome sequencing to analyse isolates collected from an historical 2-year long case cluster that occurred in a remote northern Australian indigenous island community, where infections were previously linked to a contaminated communal water supply.

Whole-genome sequencing of a quarter-century melioidosis outbreak in temperate Australia uncovers a region of low-prevalence endemicity.

Melioidosis, caused by the highly recombinogenic bacterium , is a disease with high mortality. Tracing the origin of melioidosis outbreaks and understanding how the bacterium spreads and persists in the environment are essential to protecting public and veterinary health and reducing mortality associated with outbreaks. We used whole-genome sequencing to compare isolates from a historical quarter-century outbreak that occurred between 1966 and 1991 in the Avon Valley, Western Australia, a region far outside the known range of endemicity.

Burkholderia pseudomallei Genotype Distribution in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Melioidosis is a tropical disease of high mortality caused by the environmental bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei. We have collected clinical isolates from the highly endemic Northern Territory of Australia routinely since 1989, and animal and environmental B. pseudomallei isolates since 1991.

Biosecurity interceptions of an invasive lizard: origin of stowaways and human-assisted spread within New Zealand.

Globalization, and the resultant movement of animals beyond their native range, creates challenges for biosecurity agencies. Limited records of unintentional introductions inhibit our understanding of the trade pathways, transport vectors and mechanisms through which hitchhiker organisms are spread as stowaways. Here, we adopt a phylogeographic approach to determine the source and human-mediated dispersal pathways of New Zealand's only invasive lizard, the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata), intercepted by biosecurity agencies in New Zealand.

Phylogeographic divergence in the widespread delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) corresponds to dry habitat barriers in eastern Australia.

Background: The mesic habitats of eastern Australia harbour a highly diverse fauna. We examined the impact of climatic oscillations and recognised biogeographic barriers on the evolutionary history of the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata), a species that occurs in moist habitats throughout eastern Australia. The delicate skink is a common and widespread species whose distribution spans 26° of latitude and nine major biogeographic barriers in eastern Australia.