Analysis of the genome content of <it>Lactococcus garvieae </it>by genomic interspecies microarray hybridization

• Main Authors: Gibello Alicia, Martín-Sánchez Fernando, Fernández-Garayzábal José F, López-Campos Guillermo H, Aguado-Urda Mónica, Domínguez Lucas, Blanco María M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2010-03-01
• Series: BMC Microbiology
• Online Access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/10/79

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Lactococcus garvieae </it>is a bacterial pathogen that affects different animal species in addition to humans. Despite the widespread distribution and emerging clinical significance of <it>L. garvieae </it>in both veterinary and human medicine, there is almost a complete lack of knowledge about the genetic content of this microorganism. In the present study, the genomic content of <it>L. garvieae </it>CECT 4531 was analysed using bioinformatics tools and microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) experiments. <it>Lactococcus lactis </it>subsp. <it>lactis </it>IL1403 and <it>Streptococcus pneumoniae </it>TIGR4 were used as reference microorganisms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The combination and integration of <it>in silico </it>analyses and <it>in vitro </it>CGH experiments, performed in comparison with the reference microorganisms, allowed establishment of an inter-species hybridization framework with a detection threshold based on a sequence similarity of ≥ 70%. With this threshold value, 267 genes were identified as having an analogue in <it>L. garvieae</it>, most of which (n = 258) have been documented for the first time in this pathogen. Most of the genes are related to ribosomal, sugar metabolism or energy conversion systems. Some of the identified genes, such as <it>als </it>and <it>mycA</it>, could be involved in the pathogenesis of <it>L. garvieae </it>infections.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we identified 267 genes that were potentially present in <it>L. garvieae </it>CECT 4531. Some of the identified genes could be involved in the pathogenesis of <it>L. garvieae </it>infections. These results provide the first insight into the genome content of <it>L. garvieae</it>.</p>