Whole-genome automated assembly pipeline for strains from reference, and clinical samples using the integrated CtGAP pipeline.

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is pivotal for the molecular characterization of ()-the leading bacterial cause of sexually transmitted infections and infectious blindness worldwide. WGS can inform epidemiologic, public health and outbreak investigations of these human-restricted pathogens. However, challenges persist in generating high-quality genomes for downstream analyses given its obligate intracellular nature and difficulty with propagation.

Intraspecific Diversity of Populations Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Respiratory Infections.

Chronic bacterial infections are often polymicrobial, comprising multiple bacterial species or variants of the same species. Because chronic infections may last for decades, they have the potential to generate high levels of intraspecific variation through within-host diversification over time, and the potential for superinfections to occur through the introduction of multiple pathogen populations to the ongoing infection. Traditional methods for identifying infective agents generally involve isolating one single colony from a given sample, usually after selecting for a specific pathogen or antibiotic resistance profile.

Lifetimes and mechanisms of biodegradation of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) in estuarine and marine field environments.

Coastal cities face significant challenges from plastic pollution, with most plastics being resistant to biodegradation. Biodegradable plastics are increasingly used to address this issue, particularly for items prone to entering, and then accumulating, in waterways, through littering or leakage. Among biodegradable plastics, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are notable as bioderived, bacterially synthesised aliphatic polyesters that are readily biodegradable in varied environments.

Defense Heterogeneity in Host Populations Gives Rise to Pathogen Diversity.

AbstractHost organisms can harbor microbial symbionts that defend them from pathogen infection in addition to the resistance encoded by the host genome. Here, we investigated how variation in defenses, generated from host genetic background and symbiont presence, affects the emergence of pathogen genetic diversity across evolutionary time. We passaged the opportunistic pathogen through populations of the nematode varying in genetic-based defenses and prevalence of a protective symbiont.