Spread of ST274 Clone in Different Niches: Resistome, Virulome, and Phylogenetic Relationship.

ST274 is an international epidemic high-risk clone, mostly associated with hospital settings and appears to colonize cystic fibrosis (CF) patients worldwide. To understand the relevant mechanisms for its success, the biological and genomic characteristics of 11 ST274- strains from clinical and non-clinical origins were analyzed. The extensively drug-resistant (XDR/DTR), the non-susceptible to at least one agent (modR), and the -truncated (by IS) strains showed a chronic infection phenotype characterized by loss of serotype-specific antigenicity and low motility.

Molecular Epidemiology of Methicillin-Resistant in a Tertiary Hospital from the Comunidad Valenciana (Spain).

To reduce the high rates of morbidity and mortality caused by methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains, it is essential to prevent their transmission. This can be achieved through molecular surveillance of the infecting strains, for which the detection of the entry of new strains, the analysis of antimicrobial resistance, and their containment are essential. In this study, we have analyzed 190 MRSA isolates obtained at the Consorcio Hospital General Universitario de Valencia (Spain) from 2013 to 2018 with three approaches: Multilocus Sequence Typing, and SCC typing.

Is there a widespread clone of Serratia marcescens producing outbreaks worldwide?

Background: Serratia marcescens frequently causes outbreaks in healthcare settings. There are few studies using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) that analyse S. marcescens outbreaks.

Whole-genome sequencing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a forensic transmission case.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic analyses are frequently used in the investigation of viral transmission cases in forensic contexts. Here, we present the methods and results of the analysis of a bacterial transmission episode in an alleged child abuse case using complete genome sequences obtained by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods. We obtained genomes of Neisseria gonorrhoeae from the victim, the suspect, and 29 unrelated controls.

Quantifying dynamic mechanisms of auto-regulation in Escherichia coli with synthetic promoter in response to varying external phosphate levels.

Escherichia coli have developed one of the most efficient regulatory response mechanisms to phosphate starvation. The machinery involves a cascade with a two-component system (TCS) that relays the external signal to the genetic circuit, resulting in a feedback response. Achieving a quantitative understanding of this system has implications in synthetic biology and biotechnology, for example, in applications for wastewater treatment.

FLYCOP: metabolic modeling-based analysis and engineering microbial communities.

Motivation: Synthetic microbial communities begin to be considered as promising multicellular biocatalysts having a large potential to replace engineered single strains in biotechnology applications, in pharmaceutical, chemical and living architecture sectors. In contrast to single strain engineering, the effective and high-throughput analysis and engineering of microbial consortia face the lack of knowledge, tools and well-defined workflows. This manuscript contributes to fill this important gap with a framework, called FLYCOP (FLexible sYnthetic Consortium OPtimization), which contributes to microbial consortia modeling and engineering, while improving the knowledge about how these communities work.

An unusually high substitution rate in transplant-associated BK polyomavirus in vivo is further concentrated in HLA-C-bound viral peptides.

Infection with human BK polyomavirus, a small double-stranded DNA virus, potentially results in severe complications in immunocompromised patients. Here, we describe the in vivo variability and evolution of the BK polyomavirus by deep sequencing. Our data reveal the highest genomic evolutionary rate described in double-stranded DNA viruses, i.