Open AccessGenome Analysis of Moraxella catarrhalis Strain RH4, a Human Respiratory Tract Pathogen
Author(s) -
Stefan P. W. de Vries,
Sacha A. F. T. van Hijum,
Wolfgang Schueler,
Kristian Riesbeck,
John P. Hays,
Peter W. M. Hermans,
Hester J. Bootsma
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.652
H-Index - 246
eISSN - 1067-8832
pISSN - 0021-9193
DOI - 10.1128/jb.00121-10
Subject(s) - biology , moraxella catarrhalis , regulon , genetics , moraxella (branhamella) catarrhalis , metabolic pathway , gene , in silico , genome , whole genome sequencing , microbiology and biotechnology , transcriptome , haemophilus influenzae , regulation of gene expression , bacteria , gene expression
Moraxella catarrhalis is an emerging human-restricted respiratory tract pathogen that is a common cause of childhood otitis media and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults. Here, we report the first completely assembled and annotated genome sequence of an isolate ofM. catarrhalis , strain RH4, which originally was isolated from blood of an infected patient. The RH4 genome consists of 1,863,286 nucleotides that form 1,886 protein-encoding genes. Comparison of the RH4 genome to the ATCC 43617 contigs demonstrated that the gene content of both strains is highly conserved.In silico phylogenetic analyses based on both 16S rRNA and multilocus sequence typing revealed that RH4 belongs to the seroresistant lineage. We were able to identify almost the entire repertoire of knownM. catarrhalis virulence factors and mapped the members of the biosynthetic pathways for lipooligosaccharide, peptidoglycan, and type IV pili. Reconstruction of the central metabolic pathways suggested that RH4 relies on fatty acid and acetate metabolism, as the genes encoding the enzymes required for the glyoxylate pathway, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the gluconeogenic pathway, the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway, the beta-oxidation pathway of fatty acids, and acetate metabolism were present. Moreover, pathways important for survival under challengingin vivo conditions, such as the iron-acquisition pathways, nitrogen metabolism, and oxidative stress responses, were identified. Finally, we showed by microarray expression profiling that ∼88% of the predicted coding sequences are transcribed underin vitro conditions. Overall, these results provide a foundation for future research into the mechanisms ofM. catarrhalis pathogenesis and vaccine development.