Draft genomes of strains isolated from dried spices bring unique insights into the diversity of plant-associated strains.

is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that causes life- threatening infantile infections, such as meningitis, septicemia, and necrotizing enterocolitis, as well as pneumonia, septicemia, and urinary tract and wound infections in adults. Here, we report 26 draft genome sequences of , which were obtained from dried spices from the USA, the Middle East, China, and the Republic of Korea. The average genome size of the genomes was 4393 kb, with an average of 4055 protein coding genes, and an average genome G + C content of 56.

Genomic characterization of malonate positive serotype O:2, sequence type 64 strains, isolated from clinical, food, and environment samples.

Background: Malonate utilization, an important differential trait, well recognized as being possessed by six of the seven species is thought to be largely absent in (Csak). The current study provides experimental evidence that confirms the presence of a malonate utilization operon in 24 strains of sequence type (ST) 64, obtained from Europe, Middle East, China, and USA; it offers explanations regarding the genomic diversity and phylogenetic relatedness among these strains, and that of other strains.

Results: In this study, the presence of a malonate utilization operon in these strains was initially identified by DNA microarray analysis (MA) out of a pool of 347 strains obtained from various surveillance studies involving clinical, spices, milk powder sources and powdered infant formula production facilities in Ireland and Germany, and dried dairy powder manufacturing facilities in the USA.