Journal article
Whole-genome sequencing of Burkholderia pseudomallei from an urban melioidosis hot spot reveals a fine-scale population structure and localised spatial clustering in the environment
A Rachlin, M Mayo, JR Webb, M Kleinecke, V Rigas, G Harrington, BJ Currie, M Kaestli
Scientific Reports | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2020
Abstract
Melioidosis is a severe disease caused by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei that affects both humans and animals throughout northern Australia, Southeast Asia and increasingly globally. While there is a considerable degree of genetic diversity amongst isolates, B. pseudomallei has a robust global biogeographic structure and genetic populations are spatially clustered in the environment. We examined the distribution and local spread of B. pseudomallei in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, which has the highest recorded urban incidence of melioidosis globally. We sampled soil and land runoff throughout the city centre and performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on B. ps..
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Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Darwin City Council for their technical advice and support in undertaking this investigation. Additionally, we thank Barbara Machunter for laboratory support, Erin Price and Derek Sarovich for genomics expertise and the microbiology staff at the Royal Darwin Hospital for their expertise in identifying B. pseudomallei and providing clinical isolates for this study. This study was supported by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council: grant numbers 1046812, 1098337 and 1131932 (The HOT NORTH initiative) and AR is supported by a Charles Darwin University International PhD scholarship.