Identification and Characterization of Mycobacterial Species Using Whole-Genome Sequences.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has shown immense value in enabling identification and characterization of bacterial taxa. This is particularly true for mycobacteria, where culture-based characterization becomes delayed by the inherently slow growth rate of these organisms. This chapter reviews the general techniques behind WGS and their optimization, existing techniques for species-level identification and the advantages of WGS for this purpose, and a variety of useful tools for the genomic characterization of mycobacterial strains.

A Rare Deletion in SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 Dramatically Alters the Predicted Three-Dimensional Structure of the Resultant Protein.

The function of the SARS-CoV-2 accessory protein p6, encoded by ORF6, is not fully known. Based upon its similarity to p6 from SARS-CoV, it may play a similar role, namely as an antagonist of type I interferon (IFN) signaling. Here we report the sequencing of a SARS-CoV-2 strain passaged six times after original isolation from a clinical patient in Hong Kong.