Novel features of Mycoplasma genitalium genomes identified through Oxford Nanopore sequence analysis of isolates from Australia

Abstract

Mycoplasma genitalium is a fastidious human pathogen with increasing antimicrobial resistance, yet its genomic landscape remains poorly characterized due to difficulties with culture, including prolonged incubation periods and low DNA yields from both clinical and cultured samples. Consequently, there are few publicly available genome sequences. In this study, a Vero cell culture protocol was optimized to increase M. genitalium DNA yield and integrated with Oxford Nanopore technology. As a result, 22 complete genome sequences were generated with a mean sequencing depth of 51.01×. Comparative genomics revealed that 59% of isolates contained a translocated rRNA operon, with junction flanks sho..